FoI
Arrowleaf Yam
Share Foto info
Arrowleaf Yam
P Native Photo: Seema Bin Zeenat
Common name: Arrowleaf Yam, Spear-leaved Yam • Hindi: Jangli matol • Marathi: तरड़ी Taradi • Oriya: Bhat kalu, Parlu, Tara kanda, Malara, Korondi alu, Kunda alu • Telugu: Nara tega • Urdu: Turar
Botanical name: Dioscorea belophylla    Family: Dioscoreaceae (Yam family)
Synonyms: Dioscorea nummularia var. belophylla, Dioscorea sagittata

Arrowleaf Yam is a perennial herb with climbing stems. Tubers are small, somewhat spindle-shaped. Stems are hairless, twining anticlockwise. Leaves are usually opposite, simple, 7.5-13 cm long, 2-9 cm broad, variable, ovate, heart-shaped or arrow-shaped with round basal lobes or triangular, entire, tapering, hairless 9-nerved; leaf-stalk 6.5 cm long. Male spikes are 2.5-4 cm long, 1-2 together in the axils or sometimes forming leafless panicles; stamens 6, all antheriferous. Female spikes are 5.5-12 cm long, solitary or 2 together, in leaf-axils. Capsules are 2 cm long, 3 cm broad, obovate with a retuse tip or inverted-heart-shaped. The tubers are prized for culinary purposes and sold in bazaars. It is commonly found in the foothills, rising up to about 1400 m. Flowering: September-October.

Identification credit: Seema Bin Zeenat, Dinesh Valke Photographed in Rajouri, J&K & Prabalmachi, Maharashtra.

• Is this flower misidentified? If yes,