''Dioscorea esculenta'', commonly known as the lesser yam, is a yam species native to

Island Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the Southeast Asian countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. The terms Island Southeast Asia and Insular Southeast Asia are sometimes given the same meaning as Mari ...

and introduced to

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and

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

by early Austronesian voyagers. It is grown for their edible

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

s, though it has smaller tubers than the more widely-cultivated '' Dioscorea alata'' and is usually spiny.

Names

In Javanese, and particularly in Bahasa Indonesia, it is called ''gembili''. In Tagalog, it is known as ''tugi,'' while in Cebuano it is called ''apali''. It is cultivated in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, Goa, Konkan parts of Maharashtra India. In

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

, it is known as ''nana kizhangu'' or ''nheruvalli kizhangu'' or "Cheru Kizhangu". In Goa it is called ''Kaate Kanaga (काटे कणगा )'', It is a climber which needs support and goes coiling around the support.

History of cultivation

The lesser yam is the second most important yam crop among Austronesians. Like ''D. alata'', it requires minimal processing, unlike the other more bitter yam species. However, it has smaller tubers than ''D. alata'' and is usually spiny. Like ''D. alata'' it was introduced to

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and the

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by Austronesians, where it spread to the

n coast. They are also a dominant crop in

, However, it did not reach to the furthest islands in Polynesia, being absent in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Starch grains identified to be from the lesser yam have been recovered from archaeological sites of the

Lapita culture The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian peoples, Austronesian people and their distinct material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. The Lapita people are believed t ...

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, dated to around 3,050 to 2,500 cal BP. ''D. esculenta'' is believed to have been introduced by the Lapita culture into New Guinea, along with agricultural innovations like wet cultivation. Traces of ''D. esculenta'' (along with ''D. alata'', ''D. bulbifera'', ''D. nummularia'' and ''D. pentaphylla'') yams have also been identified from the Mé Auré Cave site in Moindou,

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, dated to around 2,700 to 1,800 BP. Remains of ''D. esculenta'' have also been recovered from archaeological sites in

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, dated to around 1031 CE.

Taxonomy

Belonging to the genus '' Dioscorea'', ''Dioscorea esculenta'' describes the plant's ability to produce edible roots.

Description

The plant's stems are round and thin, with big, black compound spines that are 2–4 cm long. The leaves are soft, heart-shaped, and 5–8 cm long and 6–8 cm wide.

References

External links