Dioscorea quartiniana

A. Rich.

Dioscoreaceae Edible: Tubers, Caution, Root Potential hazards — see below 43 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Dioscorea quartiniana is a climbing tuber geophyte in the family Dioscoreaceae. It is native to Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This species occurs in forests, grasslands, and rocky areas.

Description

A yam. It is a strong slender twiner or climber. It can be 6 m long. The vine twines to the left. It does not have spines. There are a cluster of tubers that are oval or long. The stems are wiry. The leaves are alternate. The leaves have 5 (3-7) leaflets. The leaflets are often arched backwards. The leaves taper to the base and have a threadlike tip. The leaves are 5 cm long by 2 cm wide. Leaf shape can vary. There can be lumpy bulbils along the stems. The female flowers do not have stalks. They are in single slender spikes in the axils of leaves.

Edible Uses

Tubers - cooked. The tubers are peeled and soaked in water for several days; then they are washed, sliced and dried in the sun; the dried slices are pounded into flour and used for uji or ugali. The dried flour can be stored.

Traditional Uses

Caution; The tubers are poisonous unless properly prepared. They are peeled and soaked in water for several days. Then they are washed, sliced and dried in the sun. They are then pounded into flour.

Known Hazards

The fruits and roots are reported to be poisonous. The tubers need to be treated in order to remove a toxic principal.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It occurs throughout most of Subsaharan Africa. It grows in forest and grassland. It grows from sea level to 2,000 m altitude.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Asia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Comoros, Congo, East Africa, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

A plant of low to moderate elevations in the moist tropics. In Tanzania it grows in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 800 - 1,900mm. Often found in the deep shade of other vegetation. Tolerates a wide range of soil types. A very variable species.

Production

The tubers are collected after the end of the rainy season. The dried flour can be stored.

Other Information

A famine food. Tubers are sold in local markets. It is cultivated.

Notes

There are about 650 species of Dioscorea.

Synonyms

Dioscorea anchiatasi Harms [Invalid]Dioscorea anchietae Harms ex R. KnuthDioscorea angolensis R. KnuthDioscorea apiculata De Willd.Dioscorea beccariana MartelliDioscorea crinita Hook.Dioscorea cryptantha BakerDioscorea dinteri SchinzDioscorea excisa R. KunthDioscorea forbesii BakerDioscorea gossweileri R. KnuthDioscorea holstii HarmsDioscorea pentadactyla (Pax) Welw.Dioscorea pentaphylla A. Rich. non L.Dioscorea peteri R. KnuthDioscorea phaseoloides PaxDioscorea quartiniana var. apiculata (De Willd.) BurkillDioscorea quartiniana var. dinteri (Schinz) BurkillDioscorea quartiniana var. excisa (Kunth) BurkillDioscorea quartiniana var. quartiniana Milne-RedheadDioscorea quartiniana var. schliebenii (Kunth) BurkillDioscorea quartiniana var. stuhlmannii (Harms) BurkillDioscorea quartiniana var. vera BurkillDioscorea schliebenii R. KunthDioscorea schweinfurthiana PaxDioscorea stuhlmannii HarmsDioscorea ulugurensis R. KnuthDioscorea verdickii De Wild.

Also Known As

Baiyang sanga, Gumbo, Itugu, Ituguligwa, Kilumbu, Kuba, Lunyawolwendlovu, Ndiga, Sikubabe, Tugu, Unyawo-lwendlovu

References (19)

Asfaw, Z., Conservation and use of traditional vegetables in Ethiopia. FAO
Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1. Kew.
Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 66
Gemedo-Dalle, T., et al, 2005, Plant Biodiversity and Ethnobotany of Borana Pastoralists in Southern Oromia, Ethiopia. Economic Botany 59(1) pp. 43-65
http://nhm2.uio.no/botanisk/nbf/temp/Sebsebe

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