1252.000 Dioscorea L. - Yams

Description of the genus

Twining dioecious herbs, sometimes bearing aerial tubers. Leaves alternate or opposite, simple or compound (3-7-digitate). Male inflorescences of axillary spikes or racemes, sometimes a terminal panicle. Female inflorescences of axillary spikes. Ovary 3-locular. Fruit a 3-lobed capsule. Seeds sometimes winged.

Worldwide: c. 850 species in tropical and warm regions

Botswana: 3 taxa.

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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
asteriscus BurkillNDescription, Image
bulbifera (L.) L.Description, Image
quartiniana Hochst. ex A. Rich.NDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Dioscorea:

Our websites:

Flora of Caprivi: Dioscorea
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Dioscorea
Flora of Malawi: Dioscorea
Flora of Mozambique: Dioscorea
Flora of Zambia: Dioscorea
Flora of Zimbabwe: Dioscorea
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Dioscorea

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Dioscorea
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Dioscorea
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Dioscorea
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Dioscorea
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Dioscorea
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Dioscorea
JSTOR Plant Science: Dioscorea
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Dioscorea
Plants of the World Online: Dioscorea
Tropicos: Dioscorea
Wikipedia: Dioscorea

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Botswana: Genus page: Dioscorea.
https://www.botswanaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=375, retrieved 19 March 2024

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