Dioscorea polygonoides

Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.

Biter jessie

Dioscoreaceae Edible: Tubers, Root 22 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A yam. It is a climbing plant that keeps growing from year to year by producing slender twining stems from a large tuberous rootstock. The vine can be 8 m long. The stems are almost cylinder shaped. The leaves are alternate and oval with 7-11 veins. The leaves are 8-21 cm long by 5-17 cm wide. They taper to the tip and are heart shaped at the base. The upper surface is shiny and the lower surface is dull. The leaf stalks are 5-8 cm long. The bulbils on the stem are angular and 5 cm wide. The flowers hang down in the axils of the leaves. They can be branched and 50 cm long. The flowers are in groups without stalks. The capsule has 3 wings and is about 3 cm long.

Edible Uses

The tubers are cooked and eaten, or roasted and ground into a powder to use as a coffee substitute.

Traditional Uses

The root is cooked and eaten. It is also roasted and ground into a powder and used as a coffee substitute.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in rainforest clearings. It is often on limestone soils. It grows between 150-900 m in Jamaica.

Where It Grows

Antilles, Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Caribbean, Central America, Dominican Republic, Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, North America, Puerto Rico, South America, Suriname, Venezuela, West Indies,

Cultivation

A plant of the moist tropical lowlands. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required.

Notes

There are about 650 species of Dioscorea.

Synonyms

Dioscorea altissima Sieber ex C. Presl [Illegitimate]Dioscorea caracasana KunthDioscorea kegeliana Griseb.Dioscorea lutea G. Mey.Dioscorea martinicensis Spreng.Dioscorea sieberi Kunth

Also Known As

Cara, Cara-do-mato, Cheen chaak, Macal kuch ak, Makal k'uuch ak'

References (7)

Chu, E. P., Figueiredo-Ribeiro, R. C. L., 1991, Native and Exotic Species of Dioscorea Used as Food In Brazil. Economic Botany, Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 467-479
Fern, K., 2012, Tropical Species Database http://theferns.info/tropical/
FMNH Botany Collections Database - Mesoamerican Ethnobotany emuweb.field museum.org
Kinupp, V. F., 2007, Plantas alimenticias nao-convencionais da regiao metropolitana de Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil p 77
McNuff, M. A. et al, 2005, Proximate Analysis and Some Antinutritional Factor Constituents in Selected Varieties of Jamaican Yams (Disocorea and Rajana spp.) Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 60:93-98

Show all 7 references