fruits & vegetables :: NATIVE, WILD :: Dioscoreaceae » Dioscorea pentaphylla

[Dinesh Valke]

Dioscoreaceae (yam family) » Dioscorea pentaphylla
Synonym: Dioscorea triphylla


dy-oh-SKOR-ee-uh -- named for Pedanios Dioscorides, 1st century Greek pharmacologist
pen-tuh-FIL-uh -- from the Greek penta (five) and phyllum (leaf)


commonly known as: Fiji yam, five-leaved yam, mountain yam, mouse root, prickly yam, wild yam • Bengali: কাঁটা আলু kanta alu • Hindi: कांटा आलू kanta alu • Kannada: ಕಾಡು ಗುಮ್ಬಳ kaadu gumbala • Konkani: तीळ करंडी til karandi • Malayalam: noora, neynoora • Manipuri: হা ha • Marathi: babra, शेंडवेल shendvel • Nepalese: मिठे तरुल mithe tarul • Oriya: kontaalu • Sanskrit: कण्टकालुकः kantakaluka • Tamil: காட்டுவள்ளி kaattuvalli, நூறை nuurai • Telugu: అడవి గెనుసు తీగ adavi genasu tiga


Native to: s China, Japan, Indian subcontinent, Indo-China, Malesia, n Australia


Edible use (WILD):

... tubers (as VEGETABLE) eaten by ... Paniya tribe in Kerala ... ESEAP; ... tribal folks of Melghat Forest ... ethnoleaflets

some facts about wild edibles:

... there are at least 3,000 edible plant species known to man, with merely 30 crops contributing to more than 90% of the world’s calorie intake and only 120 crops are economically important on a national scale

... there are 1,532 edible wild food species in India, mostly from the Western Ghats and Himalayan regions
Quoted from ESEAP