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CULTURAL AND WILD PLANTS
Yam. Legends, myths, symbolism, description, cultivation, methods of application
Directory / Cultivated and wild plants Content
Yams, Dioscorea. Photos of the plant, basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism
Basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism Sort by: Yams (Dioscorea) Family: Pit (Dioscoreaceae) Origin: Yams originate from the tropical regions of Africa, Asia and America. Area: Yams are grown in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including Central and South America, Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Chemical composition: Yams contain carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals such as potassium, copper, and manganese. It also contains phytochemicals such as diosgenin, which can be used in the pharmaceutical industry to produce hormonal drugs. Economic value: Yams are used as a food and feed resource for people and animals. They are also prescribed in medicine for the treatment of various diseases, including the treatment of heart disease and diabetes. In addition, yams can be used to produce starch and other food products such as yam chips. Some types of yams are also grown for ornamental purposes. Legends, myths, symbolism: In African mythology, the yam is considered a sacred plant that is associated with the goddess of fertility. In some cultures, yams may be associated with food and medicinal properties. In some regions of the world, yams are an important source of nutrition as they are high in carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.
Yams, Dioscorea. Description, illustrations of the plant Yams, Dioscoreaceae family. Classification, synonyms, botanical description, nutritional value, cultivation
The family Dioscoreaceae includes yams - Dioscorea L., a number of species of which are cultivated as a vegetable for edible tubers. Some yams form root thickenings, sometimes reaching gigantic sizes (up to 1,5 m long, 1 m thick and about 50 kg in weight). All types of yams are tall, herbaceous vines with monoecious flowers. They are characterized by a long growing season (8-11 months), which prevents their spread in the temperate zone. Yams grow well on the Black Sea coast. Yams are used, like other starchy tubers. Dioscorea batatas Decaisne - Chinese yam - perennial plant producing underground tubers, naked. Stems are angular, powerful, purple-striped; leaves alternate, opposite or trifoliate; leaf blade 6-10 cm long and wide, with 7 distinct main veins, more or less three-lobed, with rounded lateral lobes and a pointed middle one; anther inflorescences - simple spikes; flowers 2 mm in diameter. Cultivated in Manchuria, China, South Africa, the Philippines. Unknown in the wild. Reproduces by terrestrial axillary nodules. Underground root tubers are large. D. alaia L. - winged yam The view matters the most. Cultivated on the islands of the Malay Archipelago. Stems are ribbed; tubers are red, often very large, located deep in the ground. Unknown in the wild. D. saliva L. - common yam - cultivated in Australia, Japan and West Africa. The stem is round, with aerial nodules. Vegetation period - 9-11 months; if you leave the tubers in the ground for longer, they reach gigantic sizes. In addition to those mentioned, there are several more tuberous types of yams. D. bulbifera L. - tuberous yam (Malay Archipelago, Africa) - grows in forests in the form of a liana, has underground and aerial tubers. D. esculenta (Lour.) Burk. - edible yams (Antilles) - small tubers (up to 1 kg); many varieties are known. D. abyssinica Host. - Abyssinian yam - a wild plant. Brings 3-4 thin long tubers; cultivated in East Africa. D. japontca Thunberg - Japanese yam - comes from Japan, Western and Central China. Also found in India. D. Fargesii Franchet is also growing in China. D. kamoonensis Kunth is also known in Siam (Thailand), Burma, and China. The tuberous species D. pentaphylla L. is found in Ceylon and India. In tropical America, D. trifida L. is of great nutritional importance. (D. triloba Willdenow) with cylindrical tubers 15 cm long (called Indian yam in the Antilles); in Guiana, D. cayennensis Lamark (Guianan yam). D. aculeata L. is a polymorphic species of yam. The most important varieties of this species are: tiliaefolia - in the Philippines, spinosa - in Burma and fasciculata - in India, Java and other islands of the Malay Archipelago. The first variety gives cylindrical tubers, the second - tubers of very high palatability, the third - tubers the size of potatoes. In Brazil, yam species grow: D. braslliensis Willdenow (called Carami Mosa or Saga Doce there) with oval-shaped tubers and 0,5-1 kg in weight, with a very pleasant-tasting pulp; D. dedecaneura Vellozo (Saga Barbado) has tasty white tubers; D. piperifolia Humboldt et Kunth, D. Subhastata Velio, and D. hastata Vellozo. The local population of Madagascar grows D. ovinala Baker, the tubers of which are poisonous when fresh, but edible after soaking; D. Macabina Jum tubers are similarly used. I Pier.; promising species: D. Bemandry jum. I Pier., D. Soso Jum. 1 Pierr., D. trichopoda jum. 1 Pierre.
There are also annual and biennial yams. This is D. Hoffa Cordemoy (in Madagascar) - with air and underground tubers. Of the perennials, the following species have not yet been sufficiently studied as food: D. Antaly jum. I Pier., D. mamillata jum. 1 Pierre. (this species is considered inedible), D. Mareka jum. 1 Pierr., D. cry plant ha Baker, D. lucida R. Br. In the Congo, D. colacasiaefoUa Pax is considered an edible species of yam; D. armata Wildem., D. dutnetorum Pax. Cultivated yams in our conditions can winter with sufficient snow cover or under the protection of leaves. The method of propagation is recommended as follows: the tubers are cut into pieces, which are placed in a greenhouse or pots, and at the end of May the plants are planted in open ground (in deep loose soil in a protected and sunny place). Shoots creep along the ground or curl if stakes are substituted. In the conditions of Eastern Europe, plants do not have time to reach a significant size in a year and they are left under cover for the second year. In addition to propagation by division of tubers, yams can be propagated by whole small and airy tubers. Yam tubers, depending on the type and conditions of culture, contain a significant amount of starch: D. sativa - 22%, D. alata - 17, D. batatas - 16 and D. bulbifera - 3,7%. The latter has a lot of sugar (about 17%), while others have only about 1%. The yam is a demanding plant, but it can also grow well in dry places. Early maturing varieties were tested in the North Caucasus and after 4-5 months yielded about 200 c/ha. Tamus communis L. - a plant close to yams, also forms tubers. However, young sprouts are used for food like asparagus, as the tubers have an extremely pungent taste. And finally, Oncus esculentus Loureigo has edible starchy tubers. Author: Ipatiev A.N.
Yams, Dioscorea alata. Methods of application, origin of the plant, range, botanical description, cultivation
Yam tubers, unlike other root-tuberous tropical crops, can withstand long-term storage even at high temperatures, but they are not used fresh for food. Yam tubers are cut into small pieces, dried and ground into flour, which is used to make cakes and sauce additives to various dishes. In terms of nutritional value, yams are similar to cassava, but contain more protein. The tubers of some types of yams contain the alkaloid diascorine, which is used to prepare valuable medicines. The area occupied by yams in world agriculture is 2,5 million hectares, gross production - 25 million tons, crop yield - 10 tons / ha. The main areas of yams are concentrated in the tropical regions of Africa, the largest areas are in Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon. In some countries, yams are grown together with sweet potatoes and the total production of these crops is taken into account (Senegal, Benin). Systematics and origin. Yam (Dioscorea alata L.) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Dioscoreaceae family that originates from regions of Southeast Asia and is distributed in tropical regions of all continents. The root system of the plant is fibrous, widely branched. The stem is thin, ribbed, decumbent or curly, up to 3 m long. The leaves are simple, petiolate, opposite at the base of the stem, alternate above. The leaf blade is round, with a pointed apex and a heart-shaped base, 5-6 cm in diameter. The petiole is up to 12 cm long, often with sharp spines at the base. Flowers in plants are rarely formed, generative reproduction of the species is absent. In the zone of the root collar of plants and on the underground part of the stem, lateral shoots - stolons - are formed. The number of stolons on one plant is 4-20 pieces, their length is from 5 to 50 cm. The length of stolons is a varietal characteristic of yam, according to which varieties are distinguished as compact, medium-dense and loose, or sprawling. The ends of the stolons thicken, yam tubers are formed - the commercial part of the plants. The mass of tubers varies from 50-300 g to 10-15 kg or more. Small yam tubers are used, as a rule, for propagation. The shape of the tubers is round, elongated-oval or fusiform. The surface is smooth, rarely slightly fissured. The bark is thin, white, pink or purple in color, the flesh is white or yellow. The growing season of yams lasts 5-6 months for early-ripening varieties and 10-12 months for late-ripening ones. Optimal growing conditions for yams: high moisture supply throughout the entire growth period, good aeration and neutral soil reaction, sufficient supply of nutrients and uniform temperature within 24-28 °C. Soil cultivation for yams is primarily aimed at creating a deep loose layer. To do this, 45-60 days before planting, the soil is plowed to a depth of 20 cm, after 2-3 weeks they are harrowed in two tracks with heavy harrows. Then plowing is carried out to a depth of 25 cm in the perpendicular direction of the first plowing. In the subsequent period, 2-3 surface tillage and leveling are performed. During the main tillage, organic fertilizers are applied in doses of 10-20 t/ha. Effective joint application of organic fertilizers and 30-40 kg/ha of nitrogen for the second plowing of the soil. The preparation of the soil for planting is completed by creating ridges (ridges) 20-25 cm high or furrows 8-10 cm deep with distances between them of 0,8-1,5 m. Landing on ridges is advisable on dense loamy soils with an abundance of precipitation, in furrows on light soils. Ridges and furrows are prepared by hiller cultivators. Mineral fertilizers are applied to the furrows or holes on the ridges, using about 400 kg/ha of a mixture of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers with element ratios of 11:11:13. For planting yams, whole tubers weighing 50-75 g are more often used, less often - parts of large tubers or segments of the lower part of the stem with 3-4 buds. Planting material is laid out in furrows or prepared holes on the ridges and covered with soil. The distance between plants in the rows is 0,6-1,5 m, which allows you to have about 1000-1500 plants per 1 ha. When planting in the furrows, the closure of the tubers is carried out by repeated passage of the cultivator-hiller. The timing of planting yams usually coincides with the beginning of the rainy season, while soil preparation is carried out in the dry period, and during the growing season, the plants are well provided with moisture from precipitation. This is also facilitated by the high resistance of yams to diseases and low susceptibility to pests. During the growing season of yams, 3-5 inter-row loosening of the soil and 2 hilling of plants are used. During hilling, supports are installed next to the plants - wooden stakes up to 2 m high, so that the stems of plants rest on them. At the first hilling, loose soil is poured to the plant up to 30-40 cm tall, at the second hilling - by the same amount. Such hilling allows you to get large, compactly placed tubers. Yams are harvested by hand. Early-ripening varieties are harvested in one time, late-ripening - in 3-4 terms. At the same time, part of the tubers is removed from the soil, and the plants are left for further vegetation. Authors: Baranov V.D., Ustimenko G.V.
Yam. The history of growing a plant, economic importance, cultivation, use in cooking
There are many tropical climbing plants that form edible starchy tubers. Often they are all indiscriminately called yams, even sweet potatoes. It is not right. True yams are monocot plants of the genus Dioscorea of the Dioscoreaaceae family. Yams have been cultivated for at least five thousand years, it is common in the humid tropics and subtropics of Asia, Africa, Central and South America, on the Pacific islands, and one dwarf species even reached the Pyrenees. Almost 93% of the edible yam is grown in West Africa, which is where its name comes from: in West African languages, the words njam, nyami or djambi mean "to eat". Yams are a liana, the length of the stems in some species exceeds 20 meters. The fruit is an inedible capsule. And on underground shoots, tubers are formed - several small ones or one large one. They usually mature in 8-11 months. They are dug by hand, with shovels, wooden sticks or pitchforks. Be careful not to damage the tubers. Yams are also propagated by tubers, large ones are pre-cut into pieces. A whole, dry yam, not affected by diseases and pests, is stored for up to six months, although it dries out a lot. Often, yams are simply piled under a canopy, but they try to provide him with good ventilation. At temperatures below 12°C, tubers deteriorate, and this circumstance should be taken into account when transporting yams to a temperate climate zone.
How is it eaten? Yam tubers are very diverse in size, shape and color, texture, smell and taste, skin thickness. With good care, 60-70 t/ha can be harvested, with a minimum of 7,5 to 30 t/ha. The average tuber contains more than 72% water, 24% carbohydrates, 2,4% proteins, fats - only 0,2%. The tubers contain calcium, iron, vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid. Yams are boiled, fried or baked. Sometimes the tubers are dried and made into flour. In West Africa, yams are consumed primarily in the form of sticky fufu dough. It is prepared from boiled yam crushed in a mortar. The dough is so dense that it is cut into pieces. You can get starch and alcohol from the tubers, but where yams grow, there are cheaper sources of raw materials for both products. Yams are expensive, because they have to be cultivated by hand, and the harvest is not particularly large. Despite this, yams are in constant demand in areas of traditional consumption. In the Caribbean, methods of mechanized planting and harvesting are now being developed to make yams cheaper and more profitable for industrial processing. Yellow and white. The genus Dioscorea includes more than 600 species, about 60 of them are edible, only a few are of serious economic importance. In Africa, they prefer to grow white and yellow (cayenne) yams - D. rotundata and D. cayenensis. However, modern taxonomists consider them to be extreme forms of numerous cultural variants of the same species and prefer to speak of the D. rotundata / D. cayenensis complex. The stem of the plant reaches 10-12 m, and the tubers - 25 kg, although they weigh 2-5 kg much more often. They are cylindrical in shape, the skin is thick, brown, the flesh is white or yellow. White yams require less moisture, ripen faster than yellow yams, and produce two crops a year. And white yams keep better than yellow ones. Asia has its own varieties. The Indian yam, D. alata, has been cultivated for so long that it is not found in the wild. Its tubers weigh 5-10 kg, but can reach 60 kg. Due to their irregular shape, it is difficult to dig them out without damaging them, losses reach 20-25%, but mechanization of the process can reduce damage to 8%. In terms of prevalence, Indian yams are second only to white and yellow, they are highly valued by the inhabitants of the Asian tropics, but in West Africa this species is unpopular because it is not suitable for fufu. Indian yam flesh contains carotene and anthocyanins and is pink to purple in color. Powdered tubers are used as food coloring for ice cream. Tubers of the Chinese yam D. opposite reach a meter in length and stick vertically into the ground. To harvest, you have to use special wooden diggers. Breeders are working to develop varieties with shorter, thicker tubers. D. opposite grows in the subtropics and tolerates colder temperatures than other species. In the XNUMXth century, during potato crop failures, it was grown in Europe and is still cultivated in France - it is in demand among immigrants. Chinese yam is very popular in Japan, where it is used to make buns, cookies, and fish paste. Don't confuse Indians with Indians. Dioscorea three-cut D. trifida, or Indian yam, was grown in South America long before Columbus. Its flesh is white to purple in color and is tastier than most yams. In memory of Dioscorides. The yam got its generic name in honor of the ancient Greek physician and naturalist Dioscorides, who lived in the XNUMXst century AD. e. The tubers of some species contain saponins, tannins and alkaloids, which are used in folk medicine. Often these plants are toxic, but they are eaten nonetheless. Here, for example, tuberous yam D. bulbifera. Its tubers, reaching a length of 25 cm, are bitter and tasteless. Of interest are the bulbs that form at the base of the leaves; the second name of the culture is air yam. The bulbs are also bitter, but they are easy to pick, and they are a convenient size - about the size of a potato. Flour is obtained from the bulbs, and before that, in order to get rid of bitterness, they are thoroughly soaked and boiled. Among the varieties of D. bulbifera there are also toxic ones containing the alkaloid dioscorine. In Indonesia, they are used to make poisonous bait for fishing. In India, tuber paste is used for snake bites, and in Jamaica for scorpion and centipede bites. The bitter Dioscorea D. dumetorum grows in Africa. Its wild forms are extremely poisonous, and the degree of toxicity is inversely proportional to the depth at which the tuber lies. They contain a mixture of stereoisomers of the alkaloid dihydrodioscorine, which causes convulsions, the tubers are used to produce arrow poison. Cultivated forms are not so poisonous and relatively mild, so they are loved by old people with bad teeth. To get rid of toxins, the tubers are cut, soaked and boiled in salt water. The slices are then dried. D. dumetorum and other bitter species are eaten in famine years. But it is better not to touch the Asian bristle-haired Dioscorea D. hispida. Its spherical tubers weighing from 5 to 15 kg lie shallow and are extremely poisonous. They contain the toxic alkaloid dioscorine. D. hispida is not cultivated, only in Java there are small plantations. Its crushed tubers are used to make poison bait, for tigers, for example, and in folk medicine to treat open wounds. Tuber detoxification is possible, although long and laborious, it is carried out several times, after which the result is checked on pets. Another poisonous yam alkaloid, diosgenin, is used as the basis for the production of corticosteroid drugs; in species such as D. mexicana, D. floribunda and D. composite, the content of diosgenin reaches 10-15%. Bread in a pot. Many people are familiar with the charming houseplant D. elephantipes elephant's foot, a capsule inlaid with tiles. It is a tuber that sticks out three-quarters of its height from the ground and is covered with polygonal cork tiles. Because of this, the plant resembles a tortoise shell, and its second name is "sleeping turtle". The tuber increases over the years, one of the largest specimens towered 210 cm above the ground, had a diameter of 90 cm and weighed about 315 kg. Another tuber grew to XNUMX meters in height and XNUMX meters in diameter. Calculations show that the plant acquires such exceptional dimensions over several centuries. D. elephantipes grows in the dry subtropics of South West Africa, and its heartwood, rich in starch and moisture, is a real treat for the locals. The Hottentots ate it willingly, hence another name - Hottentot bread. And the tuber is protected from herbivores by thorns. Yams that are not yams. Sphenostylis stenocarpa from the legume family is called the African yam. The plant has large pods 25-30 cm long, in which there are 20-30 cm seeds, and small spindle-shaped tubers, no more than 7,5 cm in length. And the greater the seed yield, the less tubers are formed. They are starchy, about 14% protein, and taste like potatoes. Yam bean Pachyrrhizus erosus (jicama) is a leguminous plant in Central and South America, where it has been cultivated since the pre-Columbian era. From there it spread throughout the Asian tropics. Jicama does not form tubers, its roots grow. They resemble turnips in shape, weight reaches 2,5 kg. Their flesh is white, juicy, sweetish. False yam, also known as the Senegalese yam Icacina senegalensis, is a shrub that grows from a fleshy tuber. It is a plant of the African savannas. The tubers lie at a depth of 25-30 cm, weigh up to 25 kg, and are difficult to obtain. They are also bitter and toxic, but in times of famine they dig them up, soak them for several days and eat them. And finally, elephant yam - several species of the genus Amorphophallus. It has a straight tall stem, on which a large inflorescence is formed, smelling of rotten meat. Every year, the plant forms several yellow tubers weighing 3-9 kg. They are boiled or baked, and from some species mannose is obtained, which is used as a thickener for ice cream and mayonnaise. Author: Ruchkina N.
Yams, Dioscorea. Recipes for use in traditional medicine and cosmetology
Ethnoscience:
Cosmetology:
Attention! Before use, consult with a specialist!
Yams, Dioscorea. Tips for growing, harvesting and storing
Yams (Dioscorea) are a genus of plants that includes over 600 species, most of which are used as food crops. Yams are known for their large tubers, which are a source of carbohydrates and other nutrients. Tips for growing, harvesting and storing yams: Cultivation:
Workpiece:
Storage:
Keep in mind that some types of yams may contain harmful substances and require special processing and preparation, so it is recommended to carry out a preliminary allergy test.
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