Dioscorea
601907
225912383
2008-07-15T23:57:08Z
John Moss
1678292
D.transversa addition
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Dioscorea''
| image = Dioscorea balcanica BotGardBln310505.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Dioscorea balcanica''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Dioscoreales]]
| familia = [[Dioscoreaceae]]
| genus = ''Dioscorea''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text
}}
'''''Dioscorea''''' is a genus of over 600 species of [[flowering plant]]s in the family [[Dioscoreaceae]], native throughout the [[tropical]] and warm [[temperate]] regions of the world. The vast majority of the species are tropical, with only a few species extending into temperate climates.
They are [[tuber]]ous [[herbaceous]] [[perennial plant|perennial]] [[liana]]s, growing to 2-12 m or more tall. The [[leaf|leaves]] are spirally arranged, mostly broad heart-shaped. The [[flower]]s are individually inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, with six petals; they are mostly [[plant sexuality|dioecious]], with separate male and female plants, though a few species are [[plant sexuality|monoecious]], with male and female flowers on the same plant. The [[fruit]] is a [[capsule (fruit)|capsule]] in most species, a soft [[berry]] in a few species.
Several species, known as [[Yam (vegetable)|yams]], are important [[agriculture|agricultural]] crops in tropical regions, grown for their large tubers. Many of these are toxic when fresh, but can be detoxified and eaten, and are particularly important in parts of [[Africa]], [[Asia]], and [[Oceania]] (see [[Yam (vegetable)|yam]] article).
;Selected species
{|
|- valign=top
|
*''[[Dioscorea alata]]'' L.
*''[[Dioscorea althaeoides]]'' Knuth
*''[[Dioscorea altissima]]'' Lam.
*''[[Dioscorea aspersa]]'' Prain & Burkill
*''[[Dioscorea balcanica]]'' Kosanin
*''[[Dioscorea banzhuana]]'' C.P'ei & C.T.Ting
*''[[Dioscorea belophylla]]'' Voigt ex Haines
*''[[Dioscorea benthamii]]'' Prain & Burkill
*''[[Dioscorea bicolor]]'' Prain & Burkill
*''[[Dioscorea biformifolia]]'' C.P'ei & C.T.Ting
*''[[Dioscorea birmanica]]'' Prain & Burkill
*''[[Dioscorea bulbifera]]'' L.
*''[[Dioscorea cayenensis]]''
*''[[Dioscorea chingii]]'' Prain & Burkill
*''[[Dioscorea cirrhosa]]'' Lour.
*''[[Dioscorea collettii]]'' Hook.f.
*''[[Dioscorea cumingii]]'' Prain & Burkill
*''[[Dioscorea decipiens]]'' Hook.f.
*''[[Dioscorea delavayi]]'' Franch.
*''[[Dioscorea deltoidea]]'' Wall. ex Kunth
*''[[Dioscorea dumetorum]]''
*''[[Dioscorea elephantipes]]''
*''[[Dioscorea esculenta]]''
*''[[Dioscorea esquirolii]]''
*''[[Dioscorea exalata]]''
*''[[Dioscorea floridana]]'' Bartlett
*''[[Dioscorea fordii]]''
*''[[Dioscorea futschauensis]]''
*''[[Dioscorea garrettii]]''
*''[[Dioscorea glabra]]''
*''[[Dioscorea gracillima]]''
*''[[Dioscorea hastifolia]]''
*''[[Dioscorea hemsleyi]]''
*''[[Dioscorea hispida]]''
|
*''[[Dioscorea japonica]]''
*''[[Dioscorea kamoonensis]]''
*''[[Dioscorea linearicordata]]''
*''[[Dioscorea martini]]''
*''[[Dioscorea melanophyma]]'' Burkill & Prain
*''[[Dioscorea menglaensis]]''
*''[[Dioscorea mexicana]]''
*''[[Dioscorea nipponica]]''
*''[[Dioscorea nitens]]''
*''[[Dioscorea opposita]]''
*''[[Dioscorea panthaica]]''
*''[[Dioscorea pentaphylla]]''
*''[[Dioscorea persimilis]]''
*''[[Dioscorea poilanei]]''
*''[[Dioscorea polygonoides]]''
*''[[Dioscorea polystachya]]'' Turczaninow
*''[[Dioscorea preussii]]''
*''[[Dioscorea quinqueloba ]]''
*''[[Dioscorea rotundata]]''
*''[[Dioscorea sansibarensis]]'' Pax
*''[[Dioscorea scortechinii]]''
*''[[Dioscorea simulans]]''
*''[[Dioscorea sinoparviflora]]''
*''[[Dioscorea spongiosa]]''
*''[[Dioscorea subcalva]]''
*''[[Dioscorea tentaculigera]]''
*''[[Dioscorea tenuipes]]''
*''[[Dioscorea tokoro]]''
*''[[Dioscorea transversa]]''
*''[[Dioscorea trifida]]''
*''[[Dioscorea velutipes]]''
*''[[Dioscorea villosa]]'' L.
*''[[Dioscorea wallichii]]''
*''[[Dioscorea xizangensis]]''
*''[[Dioscorea yunnanensis]]''
*''[[Dioscorea zingiberensis]]''
|}
The closely related genus ''[[Tamus]]'' is included in ''Dioscorea'' by some botanists; for ''Dioscorea communis'' (L.) Caddick & Wilkin, see ''[[Tamus communis]]'' .
==References==
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Dioscorea&SPECIES_XREF=&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Dioscorea'']
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=110295 Flora of China: ''Dioscorea'']
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=110295 Flora of North America: ''Dioscorea'']
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=110295 Flora of Pakistan: ''Dioscorea'']
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=DIOSC USDA Plant Profile: ''Dioscorea'']
==See also==
[[Yam (vegetable)|Yams]]
[[Category:Dioscoreales]]
[[cs:Jam]]
[[es:Dioscorea]]
[[lt:DioskorÄ—ja]]
[[nl:Dioscorea]]