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Dioscoreaceae family

Lesser Yam Dioscorea esculenta

Lesser Yam is an introduced perennial vine, found in the Pacific Basin and Puerto Rico.

More about this plant

Dioscorea esculenta is a species of flowering plant in the family Dioscoreaceae. It is sometimes referred to by the common name lesser yam, and is native to Island Southeast Asia and introduced to Near Oceania and East Africa by early Austronesian voyagers. This yam is grown for its edible tubers, though it has smaller tubers than the more widely-cultivated Dioscorea alata and is usually spiny. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Vine / climber layer — Sits in the vine of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts Documented caterpillar host

Recorded feeding on Dioscorea in North America, including:

Opogona sacchari · fungus moth
Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[07] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[08] Ecological value — GloBI
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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