{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the yam family}} {{speciesbox |image = Dioscorea bulbifera at Kadavoor.jpg |genus = Dioscorea |species = bulbifera |authority = L.<ref name=POWO>{{cite POWO |title=''Dioscorea bulbifera'' L. |id=323908-2 |access-date=25 November 2024}}</ref> |synonyms = {{Species list | hidden=yes | Helmia bulbifera | (L.) Kunth | Polynome bulbifera | (L.) Salisb. | Dioscorea anthropophagorum | A.Chev. | Dioscorea crispata | Roxb. | Dioscorea heterophylla | Roxb. | Dioscorea hoffa | Cordem. | Dioscorea hofika | Jum. & H.Perrier | Dioscorea korrorensis | R.Knuth | Dioscorea latifolia | Benth. | Dioscorea longipetiolata | Baudon | Dioscorea perrieri | R.Knuth | Dioscorea pulchella | Roxb. | Dioscorea rogersii | Prain & Burkill | Dioscorea tamifolia | Salisb. | Dioscorea tenuiflora | Schltdl. }} |synonyms_ref = <ref name=POWO/> }}
'''''Dioscorea bulbifera''''' (commonly known as the '''air potato''', '''air yam''', '''bitter yam''', '''cheeky yam''', '''potato yam''',<ref name=NTBG/> '''aerial yam''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | access-date = 2022-02-22}}</ref> and '''parsnip yam''')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bie.ala.org.au/species/http://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2894865|title=Dioscorea bulbifera var. elongata (F.M.Bailey) Prain & Burkill: Parsnip Yam|website=Atlas of Living Australia|access-date=6 January 2020}}</ref> is a species of true yam in the yam family, Dioscoreaceae. It is native to Africa, Asia and northern Australia. It is widely cultivated and has become naturalized in many regions.
==Description== [[File:Leiden University Library - Seikei Zusetsu vol. 22, page 031 - 黄獨 - Dioscorea bulbifera L., 1804.jpg|thumb|''D. bulbifera'' L. from the Japanese Seikei Zusetsu agricultural encyclopedia]]
''Dioscorea bulbifera'' is a perennial vine with broad, alternate leaves, and two types of storage organs. The plant forms bulbils in the leaf axils of the twining stems, and tubers beneath the ground. These tubers are like small, oblong potatoes.
Air potato can grow extremely quickly, roughly {{convert|8|in|cm|order=flip}} per day, and eventually reach over {{convert|60|ft|order=flip}} long.<ref>[https://texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=DIBU Invasives Database, TexasInvasives.org, Dioscorea bulbifera]</ref> It typically climbs to the tops of trees and has a tendency to take over native plants. New plants develop from bulbils that form on the plant, and these bulbils serve as a means of dispersal. The aerial stems of air potato die back in winter, but resprouting occurs from bulbils and underground tubers.
The primary means of spread and reproduction are by the bulbils. The smallest bulbils make control of air potato difficult due to their ability to sprout at a very small stage. The vine produces small white flowers; however, these are rarely seen when it grows in places such as Florida. The fruits are capsules.<ref>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200028093 Flora of North America, ''Dioscorea bulbifera'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1033. 1753. ]</ref>
{{gallery|mode=packed |Dioscorea bulbifera (Corm).jpg|Corm (tuber) |Dioscorea bulbifera shoot.jpg|Shoot |Dioscorea bulbifera bulb.jpg|Bulbils }}
==Distribution and habitat== It is native to Africa, Asia and northern Australia.<ref name=POWO/> It is widely cultivated and has become naturalized in many regions (Latin America, the West Indies, the southeastern United States, and various oceanic islands).<ref name=POWO/>
It has been observed growing in habitats such as along forest edges, roadsides, as well as other environments with mesic, loamy sand.<ref>Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: https://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: May 2023. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, W. C. Brumbach, Robert K. Godfrey, and Richard S. Mitchell. States and counties: Florida: Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf, Jackson, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Nassau, and Wakulla.</ref>
==As an invasive species== In some places, such as Florida, it is considered a noxious weed because of its quick-growing, large-leafed vine that spreads tenaciously and shades out any plants growing beneath it. The bulbils on the vines sprout and become new vines, twisting around each other to form a thick mat. If the plant is cut to the ground, the tubers can survive for extended periods and send up new shoots later.<ref>{{cite web |title=Air potato takes over |work=The Nature Conservancy |url=http://www.nature.org/initiatives/invasivespecies/misc/airpotato.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515104755/http://www.nature.org/initiatives/invasivespecies/misc/airpotato.html |archive-date=May 15, 2007 |access-date=February 10, 2013 }}</ref>
The leaf beetle ''Lilioceris cheni'' has been studied and employed as an agent of biological pest control for the plant, with releases in 2012.<ref name=usda>[https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Lilioceris-airpotato.pdf Field release of ''Lilioceris cheni'' Gressit & Kimoto (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) for biological control of air potato, ''Dioscorea bulbifera'' (Dioscoreaceae), in the continental United States: Environmental Assessment.] USDA. 2011.</ref><ref name=miami>Morgan, C. [http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/21/3014684/in-south-florida-a-tiny-new-weapon.html In South Florida, a tiny new weapon against the invasive potato vine.] ''Miami Herald'' September 21, 2012. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005195735/http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/21/3014684/in-south-florida-a-tiny-new-weapon.html |date=October 5, 2012 }}</ref>
==Toxicity== Uncultivated forms, such as those found growing wild in Florida, can be poisonous. These varieties contain the steroid diosgenin, which is a principal material used in the manufacture of a number of synthetic steroidal hormones, such as those used in hormonal contraception.<ref name=NTBG>{{cite web |title=Meet the plants: ''Dioscorea bulbifera'' |publisher=National Tropical Botanical Garden |url=http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plant_details.php?plantid=4171 |access-date=2007-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116175549/http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plant_details.php?plantid=4171 |archive-date=2016-01-16}}</ref> There have been claims<ref>{{cite web|title=Pest Plants, Air Potato: ''Dioscorea bulbifera'' |date=Jan 2010 |work=WalterReeves.com |url=http://www.walterreeves.com/landscaping/article.phtml?cat=10&id=33 |access-date=2010-01-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061112093511/http://www.walterreeves.com/landscaping/article.phtml?cat=10&id=33 |archive-date=2006-11-12 }}</ref> that even the wild forms are rendered edible after drying and boiling, leading to confusion over actual toxicity.
==Uses== Some varieties produce edible tubers and are cultivated as a food crop, especially in West Africa. The tubers of edible varieties often have a bitter taste, which can be removed by boiling. They can then be prepared in the same way as other yams, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
Air potato has been used as a folk remedy to treat conjunctivitis, diarrhoea, and dysentery, among other ailments.<ref>{{cite book |last=Duke |first=J. A. |author2=Judith L. DuCellier |title=Handbook of Alternative Cash Crops |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-tg7R4hU8hkC |year=1993 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-3620-1}}</ref>
''D. bulbifera'' is highly important to the Tiwi people of Australia, who use it in an important ceremony called ''kulama''. During the ceremony, the tubers are ritually cooked, and eaten on the third day.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Prance |editor1-first=Ghillean |editor2-last=Nesbitt |editor2-first=Mark |last1=Pieroni |first1=Andrea |author-link=Andrea Pieroni (ethnobotanist) |date=2005 |title=The Cultural History of Plants |publisher=Routledge |page=36 |isbn=0415927463}}</ref>
It is known as the '''up-yam''' in Nigerian Pidgin English, since the plant is cultivated more for its bulbils than for its tubers.<ref name="AfricanPast">{{Cite book|title=Archaeology, language, and the African past|last=Blench|first=Roger|publisher=Altamira Press|year=2006|isbn=9780759104655}}</ref>
==See also== *Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia *Yam production in Nigeria
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * Van Wyk, Ben-Erik (2005). ''Food Plants of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, Inc. {{ISBN|0-88192-743-0}} * [http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/133 ''Dioscorea bulbifera''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124185502/http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/133 |date=2012-01-24 }} University of Florida.
==External links== {{Commons category}} {{WestAfricanPlants|Dioscorea bulbifera}} * [https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/plants/air-potato Species Profile - Air Potato (''Dioscorea bulbifera'')], National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library. Lists general information and resources for Air Potato.
{{Taxonbar|from=Q311239}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dioscorea bulbifera}} bulbifera Category:Flora of Africa Category:Flora of tropical Asia Category:Flora of China Category:Flora of Eastern Asia Category:Flora of Australia Category:Perennial vegetables Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Yams (vegetable) Category:Austronesian agriculture