Aerial yam
Dioscorea bulbifera var. bulbifera
family
Dioscoreaceae
origin
Exotic
declaration
NIL
For information only
Common names
Air potato, Bitter yam, Ganmangu, Wild yam.
A long-lived vine that produces short-lived climbing stems each year from an underground tuber. Rounded to egg-shaped tubers (1-10 cm across) are produced along these stems. Its alternately arranged leaves (5-30 cm long) are usually heart-shaped with 5-11 prominent veins. Separate male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, with most plants being male. The small flowers are arranged in elongated drooping clusters in the upper leaf forks. These flowers have six cream or greenish 'petals' (1.5-3 mm long).
Impact
Impact
Aerial yam (Dioscorea bulbifera var. bulbifera) is regarded as an environmental weed in south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales. In Queensland this species has become naturalised along waterways and in rainforest in the Moreton and Burnett districts (e.g. along the Enoggera Creek catchment in Brisbane and in the Gold Coast Local Government Area). In New South Wales the "invasion and establishment of exotic vines and scramblers" was recently declared as a "key threatening process", and aerial yam (Dioscorea bulbifera var. bulbifera) it is listed among the exotic vine species contributing to this threat., In Florida aerial yam (Dioscorea bulbifera var. bulbifera) is a serious environmental weed and engulfs native vegetation, climbing high into mature tree canopies. Like Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia ), it produces large numbers of stem tubers (i.e. bulbils), which facilitate its spread and make it difficult to eradicate.
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
Aerial yam (Dioscorea bulbifera var. bulbifera) is regarded as an environmental weed in south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales. In Queensland this species has become naturalised along waterways and in rainforest in the Moreton and Burnett districts (e.g. along the Enoggera Creek catchment in Brisbane and in the Gold Coast Local Government Area). In New South Wales the "invasion and establishment of exotic vines and scramblers" was recently declared as a "key threatening process", and aerial yam (Dioscorea bulbifera var. bulbifera) it is listed among the exotic vine species contributing to this threat., In Florida aerial yam (Dioscorea bulbifera var. bulbifera) is a serious environmental weed and engulfs native vegetation, climbing high into mature tree canopies. Like Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia ), it produces large numbers of stem tubers (i.e. bulbils), which facilitate its spread and make it difficult to eradicate.
