In
Tagalog, it is known as tugi, while in
Cebuano it is called apali. It is cultivated in
Kerala, Goa, Konkan parts of Maharashtra India. In
Malayalam, it is known as nana kizhangu or nheruvalli kizhangu or "Cheru Kizhangu". In Goa it is called Kaate Kanaga (काटे कणगा ), It is a climber which needs support and goes coiling around the support.
History of cultivation
The lesser yam is the second most important yam crop among Austronesians. Like D. alata, it requires minimal processing, unlike the other more bitter yam species. However, it has smaller tubers than D. alata and is usually spiny. Like D. alata it was introduced to
Madagascar and the
Comoros by Austronesians, where it spread to the
East African coast.[3][4][5] They are also a dominant crop in
Near Oceania, However, it did not reach to the furthest islands in Polynesia, being absent in
Hawaii and
New Zealand.[6][7][8]
Starch grains identified to be from the lesser yam have been recovered from archaeological sites of the
Lapita culture in
Viti Levu,
Fiji, dated to around 3,050 to 2,500
cal BP.[9]D. esculenta is believed to have been introduced by the Lapita culture into New Guinea, along with agricultural innovations like
wet cultivation.[10][11] Traces of D. esculenta (along with D. alata, D. bulbifera, D. nummularia and D. pentaphylla) yams have also been identified from the Mé Auré Cave site in
Moindou,
New Caledonia, dated to around 2,700 to 1,800
BP.[12] Remains of D. esculenta have also been recovered from archaeological sites in
Guam, dated to around 1031
CE.[13]
Taxonomy
Belonging to the genus Dioscorea, Dioscorea esculenta describes the plant's ability to produce edible roots.
Description
The plant's stems are round and thin, with big, black compound spines that are 2–4 cm long. The leaves are soft, heart-shaped, and 5–8 cm long and 6–8 cm wide.[14]
^White, Lynton Dove.
"Uhi". Na Meakanu o Wa`a o Hawai`i Kahiko: The "Canoe Plants" of Ancient Hawai`i. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
^Horrocks, Mark; Nunn, Patrick D. (May 2007). "Evidence for introduced taro (Colocasia esculenta) and lesser yam (Dioscorea esculenta) in Lapita-era (c. 3050–2500cal.yrBP) deposits from Bourewa, southwest Viti Levu Island, Fiji". Journal of Archaeological Science. 34 (5): 739–748.
doi:
10.1016/j.jas.2006.07.011.