Horticulture Solutions YAMS Yams are tropical by nature and should not be confused horticulturally with the sweet potato.
Yams belong to several genera including Dioscorea.
Fleshy, moist sweet potatoes, mainly from Louisiana, have been misnamed as yam. Boniatos are a type of sweet potato, commonly referred to as Cuban Sweet Potato, though they are tropic in origin and look more like a yam. Copyright 1995 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. The information provided is for educational purposes only. References to commercial products or trade names do not constitute an endorsement by the University of Illinois and do not imply discrimination against other similar products.