Lesser Yam (Dioscorea esculenta)

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

Lesser Yam or Dioscorea esculenta is a perennial, climbing plant with a tuberous rootstock. It has spines and it can climb up to about 2.4 m high and spread up to 1.8 m across. The leaves are often heart-shaped It is often cultivated as root crop in tropical areas in East Asia. Though some varieties can be poisonous, most are edible. The tuber has a yellow or white flesh. It is cooked and used as vegetable.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Sweet and pleasant, with a flavour somewhat like sweet potato or chestnuts. — Root - cooked and used as a vegetable.; Sweet and pleasant, with a flavour somewhat like sweet potato or chestnuts.; The tubers are oval, up to 20cm long and 6 - 8cm in diameter.; Each plant can produce 5 - 20 tubers.

Habitat & North American Range

Not known. (Zone 8)