Dioscorea bulbiferaL.

air yambitter yampotato yam

WFO wfo-0000389411 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Dioscorea bulbifera, photographed by Josiah Londerée
fig. a Josiah Londerée, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-14 / obs. 197945462
Dioscorea bulbifera, photographed by Josiah Londerée
fig. b Josiah Londerée, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 193387498
Dioscorea bulbifera, photographed by Jon Sullivan
fig. c Jon Sullivan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 198813673
Dioscorea bulbifera, photographed by Amber M. King
fig. d Amber M. King, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 173327070
Dioscorea bulbifera, photographed by Ben Machado
fig. e Ben Machado, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 169702438
Dioscorea bulbifera, photographed by 葉子
fig. f 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 168499144
Dioscorea bulbifera, photographed by Agnes Trekker
fig. g Agnes Trekker, CC0 1.0 / obs. 147046704
Dioscorea bulbifera, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. h Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 147230728

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 72 botanical countries

Regions where Dioscorea bulbifera is native: Angola, Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Caprivi Strip, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Japan, Korea, Nansei-shoto, Taiwan, Tibet, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, Christmas I., East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, Caroline Is., Vanuatu AngolaBeninBurkinaBurundiCameroonCaprivi StripCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEritreaEthiopiaGabonGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMozambiqueNigeriaRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanJapanTaiwanTibetAssamBangladeshBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern Australia KoreaNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Christmas I.Laccadive Is.Caroline Is.Vanuatu
Native distribution of Dioscorea bulbifera, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Caprivi Strip CPV
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Eritrea ERI
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mozambique MOZ
Nigeria NGA
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
Christmas I. XMS
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laccadive Is. LDV
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China North-Central CHN ASIA-TEMPERATE
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Japan JAP
Korea KOR
Nansei-shoto NNS
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Vanuatu VAN

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 32 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Dioscorea anthropophagorum A.Chev. ex Jum.
  • Dioscorea anthropophagorum A.Chev.
  • Dioscorea bulbifera f. domestica (Makino) Makino & Nemoto
  • Dioscorea bulbifera var. albotuberosa Y.F.Zhou, Z.L.Xu & Y.Y.Hang
  • Dioscorea bulbifera var. anthropophagorum (A.Chev.) Summerh.
  • Dioscorea bulbifera var. brachybotryum Y.Y.Hang & Y.F.Zhou
  • Dioscorea bulbifera var. crispata (Roxb.) Prain
  • Dioscorea bulbifera var. elongata (F.M.Bailey) Prain & Burkill
  • Dioscorea bulbifera var. heterophylla (Roxb.) Prain & Burkill
  • Dioscorea bulbifera var. pulchella (Roxb.) Prain
  • Dioscorea bulbifera var. sativa Prain
  • Dioscorea bulbifera var. suavia Prain & Burkill
  • Dioscorea bulbifera var. vera Prain & Burkill
  • Dioscorea crispata Roxb.
  • Dioscorea heterophylla Roxb.
  • Dioscorea hoffa Cordem.
  • Dioscorea hofika Jum. & H.Perrier
  • Dioscorea korrorensis R.Knuth
  • Dioscorea latifolia Benth.
  • Dioscorea longipetiolata Baudon
  • Dioscorea perrieri R.Knuth
  • Dioscorea pulchella Roxb.
  • Dioscorea rogersii Prain & Burkill
  • Dioscorea sativa f. domestica Makino

and 8 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.