Dioscorea esculenta explained

Dioscorea esculenta, commonly known as the lesser yam, is a yam species native to Island Southeast Asia and introduced to Near Oceania and East Africa by early Austronesian voyagers. It is grown for their edible tubers, though it has smaller tubers than the more widely-cultivated Dioscorea alata and is usually spiny.[1]

Names

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.[2] [3] [4] 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.[5] [6] [7]

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.[8] D. esculenta is believed to have been introduced by the Lapita culture into New Guinea, along with agricultural innovations like wet cultivation.[9] [10] 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.[11] Remains of D. esculenta have also been recovered from archaeological sites in Guam, dated to around 1031 CE.[12]

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.[13]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: C.. Andres. O.O.. AdeOluwa. G.S.. Bhullar. Brian . Thomas. Denis J. . Murphy . Brian G. . Murray. Encyclopedia of Applied Plant Sciences. 2nd. Yam (Dioscorea spp.). Academic Press . 2016. 435–441. 9780123948076 . https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312231378.
  2. Book: Roger . Blench . Atholl . Anderson . Atholl Anderson . James H.. Barrett. Katherine V.. Boyle. The Global Origins and Development of Seafaring. Evidence for the Austronesian Voyages in the Indian Ocean. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. 2010. 239–248. 9781902937526. http://www.rogerblench.info/Archaeology/Indian%20Ocean/Austronesians%20in%20East%20Africa%20offprint.pdf .
  3. Beaujard . Philippe . The first migrants to Madagascar and their introduction of plants: linguistic and ethnological evidence . Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa . August 2011 . 46 . 2 . 169–189 . 10.1080/0067270X.2011.580142. 55763047 .
  4. Book: Tom. Hoogervorst. Satish. Chandra. Himanshu. Prabha Ray. The Sea, Identity and History: From the Bay of Bengal to the South China Sea. If Only Plants Could talk...: Reconstructing Pre-Modern Biological Translocations in the Indian Ocean. Manohar. 2013. 67–92. 9788173049866. http://www.sealinksproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Hoogervorst-2013-If-only-plants-could-talk.pdf.
  5. Book: Kirch . Patrick Vinton . Green . Roger C. . Hawaiki, Ancestral Polynesia: An Essay in Historical Anthropology . 2001 . Cambridge University Press . 9780521788793 . 267 .
  6. Sykes . W. R. . Dioscoreaceae, new for the adventive flora of New Zealand . New Zealand Journal of Botany . December 2003 . 41 . 4 . 727–730 . 10.1080/0028825X.2003.9512884. 85828982 . free .
  7. Web site: White . Lynton Dove . Uhi . Na Meakanu o Wa`a o Hawai`i Kahiko: The "Canoe Plants" of Ancient Hawai`i . 21 January 2019.
  8. Horrocks . Mark . Nunn . Patrick D. . 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 . May 2007 . 34 . 5 . 739–748 . 10.1016/j.jas.2006.07.011.
  9. Chaïr . H. . Traore . R. E. . Duval . M. F. . Rivallan . R. . Mukherjee . A. . Aboagye . L. M. . Van Rensburg . W. J. . Andrianavalona . V. . Pinheiro de Carvalho . M. A. A. . Saborio . F. . Sri Prana . M. . Komolong . B. . Lawac . F. . Lebot . V. . Chiang . Tzen-Yuh . Genetic Diversification and Dispersal of Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) . PLOS ONE . 17 June 2016 . 11 . 6 . e0157712 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0157712 . 27314588 . 4912093 . free .
  10. Book: Tim. Bayliss-Smith. Jack. Golson. Philip. Hughes. Jack . Golson . Tim . Denham. Philip . Hughes. Pamela. Swadling. John . Muke. Ten Thousand Years of Cultivation at Kuk Swamp in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Phase 4: Major Disposal Channels, Slot-Like Ditches and Grid-Patterned Fields. ANU Press. terra australis. 46. 2017. 239–268. 9781760461164. https://books.google.com/books?id=Hlk0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA239.
  11. Horrocks . M. . Grant-Mackie . J. . Matisoo-Smith . E. . Introduced taro (Colocasia esculenta) and yams (Dioscorea spp.) in Podtanean (2700–1800years BP) deposits from Mé Auré Cave (WMD007), Moindou, New Caledonia . Journal of Archaeological Science . January 2008 . 35 . 1 . 169–180 . 10.1016/j.jas.2007.03.001.
  12. Moore . Darlene R. . Archaeological Evidence of a Prehistoric Farming Technique on Guam . Micronesica . 2005 . 38 . 1 . 93–120 .
  13. Book: Yoshitaka . Tanaka . Nguyen . Van Ke . 2007 . Edible Wild Plants of Vietnam: The Bountiful Garden . Thailand: Orchid Press . 978-9745240896 . 74.

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