Yellow Guinea Yam

The yellow starch of the tubers of this species is regarded for its flavor in its native Africa and Indian subcontinent. This food crop e...Read Moreventually made its way to the Caribbean islands, where it remains in cultivation today. My specimen started life as a 50-60g "minisett", being a piece cut from the end of a tuber purchased from a tropical foods market. The open end was dipped in sand moistened with a neem oil solution, and the cutting kept sealed in plastic wrap in a warm place until tiny roots began to sprout within a few weeks. The tuber cutting was then placed in a pot with well draining soil, overwintered indoors, and kept gently moist.

The tuber cutting developed roots within its pot over a period of several months, with a vine eventually emerging when ambient temperatures remained consistently above around 21 C (70 F). Although the foliage of this species bears close resemblance to that of the relatively common D. alata, D. cayennensis is easily differentiated by its round thorny vine stem, whereas the stem of D. alata is squared and smooth. This species should be regarded as a dedicated tropical, requiring a more prolonged, warm growing season than other, naturalized species (e.g. D. alata, D. bulbifera, and D. polystachya), and is likely less cold tolerant.

Roots are delicious/grows higher and farther than all the rest of my Dioscorea plants.Has thorny stems /longer and more pointed leaves/a ...Read Morelittle slow geting started but realy makes up for it once it starts. Requires 100 cm of water well distributed throughout the growing season.Start new plants by cuting pieces off the tubers/will not tollerate any frost /should be mulched to protect from extreems/needs rich well drained soil/can be grown in mulch w/composted manure,and brought in for the winter. Roots should be cooked before eating.[this Yam does not produce aerial tubers]feb/8/04 I just dug up some of the tubers ,first year roots were about 2-4 lbs,and second year roots were 7 to 8 lbs.