Dioscorea bulbifera L. FLEPPC（黄药l FLEPPC）.pdf

Dioscorea bulbifera L. Dioscoreaceae/Yam Family Common Names: Air potato, potato yam, air yam Synonymy: D. anthropophagum Chev., D. hoffa Cordemoy, D. sativa Thunb., D. sylvestris de Wild., Helmia bulbifera Kunth. Origin: Tropical Asia Botanical Description: Vigorously twining herbaceous vine, with small or absent underground tubers. Stems to 20 m (66 ft) or more in length, freely branching above; internodes round or slightly angled in cross section, not winged (as in D. alata). Aerial tubers (bulbils) freely formed in leaf axils, usually roundish, to 12 cm (5 in) x 10 cm (4 in), with mostly smooth surfaces. Leaves long petioled, alternate; blades to 20 cm (8 in) or more long, broadly heart shaped, with basal lobes usually rounded. Flowers rare (in Florida), small, fragrant, male and female arising from leaf axils on separate plants (i.e., a dioecious species), in panicles or spikes to 11 cm (4 in) long. Fruit a capsule; seeds partially winged. NOTE: May be confused with D. alata L. or native wild yams (see note under D. alata). Ecological Significance: Listed by Holm et al. (1979) as a serious weed in west Polynesia. Introduced to the Americas from Africa during the slave trade (Coursey 1967). Apparently introduced to Florida in 1905 as a USDA sample sent to an Orange County horticulturist, Henry Nehrling, who found that it “soon formed impenetrable masses,” adding that except for kudzu vine, he had “never seen a more aggressive and dangerous vine in Florida” (Morton 1976). Described in 1971 (Long and Lakela) as being grown ornamentally but “an unwanted plant in central and south Florida.” Noted as “becoming extensively naturalized” in 1977 (Ward) and well established in Dade and Broward counties (Austin 1978). By 1982 (Bell and Taylor, Wunderlin), invading a variety of habitats including pinelands and hammocks. Considered “rampant on undeveloped land” in