page_title: Yam (vegetable)
section_title: D. bulbifera
hierarchical_section_title: Yam (vegetable) / Cultivation / Major cultivated species / D. bulbifera
caption_attribution_description: Wild Yams, Dioscorea sp., Tena Kourou, SW Burkina Faso
context_page_description: Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus Dioscorea that form edible tubers.
  Yams are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in many temperate and tropical regions, especially in Africa, South America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Oceania. The tubers themselves, also called "yams", come in a variety of forms owing to numerous cultivars and related species.
context_section_description: D. bulbifera, the air potato, is found in both Africa and Asia, with slight differences between those found in each place. It is a large vine, 6 m (20 ft) or more in length. It produces tubers, but the bulbils which grow at the base of its leaves are the more important food product. They are about the size of potatoes (hence the name "air potato"), weighing from 0.5 to 2.0 kg (1 lb 2 oz to 4 lb 7 oz).
  Some varieties can be eaten raw, while some require soaking or boiling for detoxification before eating. It is not grown much commercially since the flavor of other yams is preferred by most people. However, it is popular in home vegetable gardens because it produces a crop after only four months of growth and continues producing for the life of the vine, as long as two years. Also, the bulbils are easy to harvest and cook.
  In 1905, the air potato was introduced to Florida and has since become an invasive species in much of the state. Its rapid growth crowds out native vegetation and it is very difficult to remove since it can grow back from the tubers, and new vines can grow from the bulbils even after being cut down or burned.
caption: Wild yams (D. sp.)
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