Dioscorea alata

Also known as purple yam, ube, greater yam

species of plant

OverviewAI-generated

Dioscorea alata, commonly known as water yam, is a species of plant in the family Dioscoreaceae. It belongs to the genus Dioscorea and is classified within the order Dioscoreales, class Liliopsida, and phylum Tracheophyta. The scientific name is cited as Dioscorea alata L. The species has various uses, including as fodder, food, vegetable, and medicinal plant.

The taxon range includes China, Fujian, Tibet Autonomous Region, and Guangdong. Records from Mexico indicate the presence of the species, with data held by institutions such as ECOSUR, CICY, UACH, INECOL, and CCBA-FMVZ-UADY.

Synthesized by Vinony from 32 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, Gbif Occ, Plants of the World, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Dioscorea alata

SPECIES

KingdomPlantae
PhylumTracheophyta
ClassLiliopsida
OrderDioscoreales
FamilyDioscoreaceae

Native toAssam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, Christmas I., East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar

Observations recorded7,778

Un trozo de torta hecha de ube. El ñame de agua, ñame alado o en Filipinas ube o ubi (Dioscorea alata) es una especie de ñame (Dioscorea alata) que contiene pigmentos que dan color púrpura o violáceo. Ilustración Tubérculo

via GBIF · Kew POWO

Museum specimens

Specimen records: 1,245
With media: 941
Family: Dioscoreaceae
Collections: ECOSUR, CICY, UACH, INECOL, CCBA-FMVZ-UADY, IBUNAM
Recorded in: Mexico

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Encyclopedic overview

Dioscorea alata – also called ube, ubi, uwhi, purple yam, or greater yam, among many other names – is a species of yam (a tuber). The tubers are usually a vivid violet-purple to bright lavender (hence the common name), but some range from creamy-white to plain white. Although it is sometimes confused with taro and the Okinawa sweet potato beniimo (紅芋) (Ipomoea batatas 'Ayamurasaki'), D. alata is also grown in Okinawa. Its origins are in the Asian and Oceanian tropics. Some varieties attain to great size. A "Mambatap" greater yam grown in Maprik, East Sepik District, Papua New Guinea around 1939 was 3.5 m (11 ft) in length.

Names

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Dioscorea alata” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.