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Dioscorea japonica

Common name:	Glutinous Yam	Family:	Dioscoreaceae
Author:	Thunb.	Botanical references:	58, 266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	Edible species of Dioscorea have opposite leaves whilst poisonous species have alternate leaves[174].
Range:	E. Asia - China, C. and S. Japan.
Habitat:	Wooded foothills[58]. Mixed forests and margins, scrub forests, herb communities, mountain slopes, valleys, along rivers and streams, roadsides; 100 - 1200 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Chinese Yam [H], Huang Tu [E], Japanese Yam [P], Shan Yao [E], T'U Yu [E], Yama-No-Imo [E], Yeh Shan Yao [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Yam family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China; Japan

Physical Characteristics

Perennial Climber. . It is in flower from September to October. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Root.

Tuber - cooked[174, 177, 179]. A very pleasant mild flavour with a floury texture, the roots can be eaten as a potato substitute[2]. The starch can be used as a binding agent for other foods[183]. Roots contain about 1.9% protein, 20% carbohydrate, 0.1% fat and 1% ash[179].
Leaf tips - cooked[183].
Tubercles - cooked[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Contraceptive; Miscellany; Tonic.

The tubers are prescribed in the treatment of diarrhoea, enteritis, enuresis and spermatorrhoea[218]. They are also dried and cut into shavings then used as a tonic[218].
The roots of most, if not all, members of this genus, contains diosgenin[222, 240]. This is widely used in modern medicine in order to manufacture progesterone and other steroid drugs. These are used as contraceptives and in the treatment of various disorders of the genitary organs as well as in a host of other diseases such as asthma and arthritis[222].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it could succeed outdoors at least in the mildest areas of this country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Easily grown in a fertile well-drained soil in a sunny position or light shade[200]. Prefers a rich light soil[1].
Plants produce tubercles (small tubers that are formed in the leaf axils of the stems), and can be propagated by this means[K].
A climbing plant that supports itself by twining around the branches of other plants[219].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - sow March to April in a sunny position in a warm greenhouse and only just cover. It germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at 20°c[175]. Prick out the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow on in a greenhouse for their first year. Plant out in late spring as the plant comes into new growth.
Basal stem cuttings in the summer[37].
Division in the dormant season, never when in growth[1]. The plant will often produce a number of shoots, the top 5 - 10 cm of the root below each shoot can be potted up to form a new plant whilst the lower part of the root can be eaten[K].
Tubercles (baby tubers) are formed in the leaf axils. These are harvested in late summer and early autumn when about the size of a pea and coming away easily from the plant. They should be potted up immediately in individual pots in a greenhouse or cold frame. Plant out in early summer when in active growth[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Dioscoreaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[37] Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[174] Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
A good Japanese herbal.

[175] Bird. R. (Editor) Focus on Plants. Volume 5. (formerly 'Growing from seed') Thompson and Morgan. 1991
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Corydalis spp.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

Alternative Root Crops.

Ioane Malaki (malaki__i@samoa.usp.ac.fj) Fri Jun 21 22:11:58 2002

Colocasia, Alocasia and Manihot are important staples in the South Pacific region as potato and rice are important in other regions of the world. Add Dioscorea to that list. Colocasia, Alocasia and Dioscorea are of particular importance in Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Is, Cook Is and Niue. Manihot is not a staple in Samoa, Cook Is and Niue.

Link: www.usp.ac.fj University of the South Pacific

Details of Growing Condition: South Pacific region, Pacific Ocean, Tropical, Volcanic Soils (Loamy), Wet and Dry Seasons.

Cross references: Genera: Colocasia, Alocasia, Manihot, Dioscorea, Xanthosoma, Cyrtosperma. Web-pages: Alternative Root Crops..

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