Yam (vegetable)

**Yam** be de common name give sam plant species insyd de genus *Dioscorea* (family Dioscoreaceae) wey dey form edible tubers (sam oda species insyd de genus be toxic).

Yams be perennial herbaceous vines native to Africa, Asia, den de Americas wey e be cultivated for de consumption of dema starchy tubers insyd chaw temperate den tropical regions. De tubers demaselves, dem sanso call "yams", dey cam insyd a variety of forms wey dey owe to chaw cultivars den related species.

## Description
A monocot wey relate to lilies den grasses, yams be vigorous herbaceous, perennially dey grow vines from a tuber. Sam 870 species of yams be known, a few of wich be widely grown for dema edible tuber buh odas of wich be toxic (such as *D. communis*).

Yam plants fi grow up to  in length den  high. De tuber fi grow into de soil up to  deep. De plant dey disperse by seed.

De edible tuber get a rough skin wey be difficult to peel buh readily soften by cooking. De skins dey vary in color from dark brown to light pink. De majority, anaa meat, of de vegetable be composed of a much softer substance wey dey range insyd color from white anaa yellow to purple anaa pink insyd mature yams.

## Etymology
De name "yam" dey appear to derive from Portuguese *inhame* anaa Canarian Spanish *ñame*, wich derive from Fula, one of de West African languages during trade. However, insyd Portuguese, dis name commonly dey refer to de taro plant (*Colocasia esculenta*) from de genus *Colocasia*, as opposed to *Dioscorea*.

De main derivations borrow from verbs wey dey mean "to eat". True yams get various common names across multiple world regions.

Insyd sam places, other (unrelated) root vegetables sam times be referred to as "yams", wey dey include:

* Insyd de United States, sweet potatoes (*Ipomoea batatas*), especially those plus orange flesh, often be referred to as "yams"

* Insyd Australia, na de tubers of de *Microseris walteri*, anaa yam daisy, be a staple food of Aboriginal Australians insyd sam regions.
* Insyd New Zealand, oca (*Oxalis tuberosa*) be typically referred to as "yam".
* Insyd Malaysia den Singapore, taro (*Colocasia esculenta*) be referred to as "yam".
* Insyd Africa, South den Southeast Asia as well as de tropical Pacific islands dem dey grow *Amorphophallus paeoniifolius* wey e be known as "elephant foot yam".

## Distribution den habitat
Yams be native to Africa, Asia, den de Americas. Na three species be independently domesticated on those continents: *D. rotundata* (Africa), *D.&nbsp;alata* (Asia), den *D.&nbsp;trifida* (South America).

## Ecology
Sam yams be invasive plants, dem often consider a noxious weed outsyd cultivated areas.

## Cultivation

### Major cultivated species

#### ''D. rotundata'' and ''D. cayennensis''

#### ''D. alata''

#### ''D. polystachya''

#### ''D. bulbifera''

#### ''D. esculenta''

#### ''D. dumetorum''

#### ''D. trifida''

### Wild taxa

#### ''D. hirtiflora'' subsp. ''pedicellata''

#### ''D. japonica''

### Production
Insyd 2020, na world production of yams be , wey Nigeria lead plus 67% of de total (table).

## Uses

#### Comparison to oda staple foods

**<sup>A</sup>** raw yellow dent corn

**<sup>B</sup>** raw unenriched long-grain white rice

**<sup>C</sup>** raw hard red winter wheat

**<sup>D</sup>** raw potato plus flesh den skin

**<sup>E</sup>** raw cassava

**<sup>F</sup>** raw green soybeans

**<sup>G</sup>** raw sweet potato

**<sup>H</sup>** raw sorghum

**<sup>Y</sup>** raw yam

**<sup>Z</sup>** raw plantains

**<sup>/*</sup>** unofficial

## References

## External links

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