Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Dioscorea villosa

Common name:	Wild Yam	Family:	Dioscoreaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	43, 235
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	Edible species of Dioscorea have opposite leaves whilst poisonous species have alternate leaves[174]. Use of the fresh plant can cause vomiting and other side effects[222].
Range:	Eastern N. America - New England to Minnesota and Ontario, south to Virginia and Texas.
Habitat:	Wet woods and swamps, thickets and hedges[43, 165].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	4

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	D. hirticaulis[B,P] D. villosa var. hirticaulis[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Colic-root [H], Wild Yam [H,B,S,P], Yabani Hindelmasi [E], Yam, Wild [S],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	villosa = hairy
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Yam family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Turkey Us Us(Amerindian) Us(Appalachia) Us(Slaves)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial Climber growing to 3m. It is hardy to zone 6. 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 2/5 for edibility and 4/5 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

Root.

Tuber - cooked[177]. Some caution should be exercised with this plant. See 'Medicinal Uses' for more information.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiinflammatory Antispasmodic Cholagogue Contraceptive Diaphoretic Homeopathy Vasodilator.

Wild yam roots, and the roots of many other members of the genus, contains diosgenin[222]. 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, 254].
The roots are anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, cholagogue, diaphoretic and vasodilator[165, 238]. They are also a visceral relaxant[165]. This plant affords one of the best and fastest cures for bilious colic, it is especially helpful in treating the nausea of pregnant women[4] and has been used to ease the pain of childbirth[257]. It is also taken internally in the treatment of arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, gastritis, gall bladder complaints, painful menstruation etc[238]. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[238]. The root should not be stored for longer than 1 year, since it is likely to lose its medicinal virtues[4]. Caution is advised in the use of the this plant, when taken fresh it can cause vomiting and other side effects[222].
The root, harvested in September, is used to make a homeopathic remedy[232]. Its main use is in the treatment of infant colic[232].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, succeeding in a fertile well-drained soil in a sunny position or light shade[200]. Prefers a rich light soil[1].
Plants are hardy to at least -15° c[238].
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].
This is a polymorphic species, some botanists dividing it up into several species[235].
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 possibly 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

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[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]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[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.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[232] Castro. M. The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. Macmillan. London. 1990 ISBN 0-333-55581-3
A concise beginner's guide to the subject. Very readable.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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..

Back to: Pathways Home page, Main Search Page Help Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Dioscorea+villosa
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Dioscorea+villosa

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Pathways Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Privacy Policy :: Philosophy :: The Witchs Haven

We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.