Aerial Yam (Dioscorea bulbifera)

Family: Dioscoreaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Dioscorea bulbifera or commonly known as Aerial Yam is a perennial, non-spiny, climbing plant up to 10 m long. It has a woody, tuberous rootstock and heart-shaped broad leaves. The twining stems produce aerial axillary bulbils that are edible. The plant is native to Africa, southern Asia, Maldives, and northern Australia. Some varieties are edible and cultivated as a food crop while others are poisonous.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Roots/Tubers, Flowers

Harvest Seasons: Fall, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

taste, they can be boiled, baked, fried etc. — Aerial tubers - cooked.; An agreeable taste, they can be boiled, baked, fried etc.; They must be thoroughly cooked in order to destroy toxic alkaloids.; Wild forms of the plant are always toxic raw, though selected cultivars have been developed that are much lower, or even free from, the toxins.

Habitat & North American Range

Not known. (Zone 9)