Dioscorea trifida
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| Dioscorea trifida | ||||||||||||||
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| Dioscorea trifida L. |
The climbing perennial vine Dioscorea trifida is a species of yam native to the Caribbean and tropical Central and South America. It is known by a variety of common names, including Indian yam, napi, yampie or yampi, name mapuey, aja, cara doce, and cushcush. It is cultivated and eaten as a starchy root vegetable, but the similar food item cassava is utilized much more often.
The dioecious plant is a small tuber which sends out creeping stems with wings and large leaves. It has flowers and small winged fruits containing seeds. The plant may be grown in a similar manner as the potato. Like other Dioscorea species, D. trifida contains the distasteful toxic alkaloid dioscorene, which can be eliminated by cooking the tuber.
