User:Tattoovirgin/Dioscorea villosa L

Dioscorea villosa
The plant, Dioscorea villosa, is commonly known as Wild Yam. Wild yam is native to most of the eastern United States, and only reaches as far north as southern New England, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This plant is a highly polymorphic species (generic), showing variation in many characteristics of the plant found across habitats and geography. The main habitat for this plant is a floodplain (river or stream floodplains), forests, and wetland margins - such as the edges of wetlands.

Leaf Morphology


Characteristic options in the leaves include alternate, opposite and whorled. Alternate leaves have one leaf per node. An opposite arrangement has two leaves per node. Whorled leaves have three or more leaves of which are equally spaced apart at a node. The shape of the leaf blades present on Dioscorea villosa are cordate, which means they are heart-shaped and have backward-facing rounded lobes. They can also be sagittate which are arrow-shaped with backward-facing pointed lobes. The shape of the leaf blade is ovate meaning it is widest below the middle and broadly tapered at both ends

According to Minnesota wildflowers website cited here: The leaves on the wild yam (Dioscorea villosa) are dominantly alternate and may be whorled near the base of the plant. The leaves can range from 1 to 5 inches long and from 3/4 to 5 inches wide. They are nearly heart shaped with a prominent point at the tip and often have 7 to 11 deep veins that originate at the base of the leaf. The stalk is often smooth and hairless, it can sometimes have minimal hairs where the stalk and blade meet. It can also be up to 6 inches in length and may be narrowly winged or ridged. The leaf edges are toothless and can be wavy. Again, the top side of the leaf is hairless while the under bit varies from containing hair to being hairless. The color of the leaves, however, ranges from a light to medium shade of green. The stems are petite, branched and leafy, and can be grooved or narrowly winged. Stems are often mainly hairless and lack tendrils. Dioscorea villosa is known to depend on its' environment for vegetation and support. One of the main sources of expansion for Dioscorea villosa is through seed dispersal.

Wild Yam Flower
Dioscorea villosa flower petal color is commonly known to be green to brown, or white. Lengths of the flower petals range from .5 mm to 2 mm. The flowers tend to grow out of the axil; this is the point at which a branch or leaf attaches to the main stem. There is only one flower present on the inflorescence. The inflorescence characteristics include panicle - loose branched cluster of flowers, spiked - long unbranched stem containing flowers with no stalks, dichasial cyme - an axis containing a terminal flower and below that there are a pair of branches of which also have terminal flowers each and the pattern can continue. The Dioscorea villosa ovary is located below the point of the petal or sepal. The fruit of the plant is a capsule that splits and releases the seeds within to then begin the dispersal process The fruit of Dioscorea villosa ranges in size from 10-30 mm. The flower does not contain a bulblet.

Growing Wild Yam
When growing Dioscorea villosa, it is important to keep the soil moist as it thrives in wet conditions, ensure that the area is suitable for vine growth and the climbing of the plant is suitable. Because the plant will take approximately 2-3 years to fully mature to its' potential, reassuring the area of growth is in appropriate conditions to last long enough is beneficial.

Medicinal Purpose
Dioscorea villosa has a historical reputation for medicinal purpose. If consumed orally, it has been known to assist in the pain with menstrual cramping,pain from gallstones, rheumatoid arthritis, and stomach cramps. Some herbal/diet supplement products have been found to contain possibly harmful impurities/additives. The side effects to using this plant medically include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and headache. The precautions are important to note as well before the consumption of Dioscorea villosa and are regarding those with diabetes, liver issues, cancer etc.

Taxonomy
Synonyms of Wild Yam, Dioscorea villosa include: Dioscorea hirticaulis, Dioscorea villosa var. hirticaulis. Common names of Dioscorea villosa include wild yam, Atlantic yam, common wild yam, wild yam-root, yellow yam; colic root, rheumatism root

The USDA Symbol for Dioscorea villosa is divi4. The USDA Native Status is L48 (N), PR (N), CAN (N). The bloom time of Dioscorea villosa is April, May, June, July.

It was known to collect the wild yam Dioscorea villosa plant in the eastern and southern regions of the U.S. for medicinal plant trade. The plant is often confused for other plants of the same genus which makes identifying this plant quite difficult. There are many instances where the plant name is misused such as marketing labels in wild yams of Mexico and Central America.

Wild yam is a monocot. it is a vine related to tropical Yam seen in grocery stores but cannot be consumed. What sets the Dioscorea villosa apart from the rest are the palate venation in the leaves, the racemes or panicles of petite flowers, and the three-angled seed capsules for dispersal.

Competitive Scientists
Many scientists can get very competitive during the identification process of taxa as well as characteristics. It is not uncommon to see many names for one plant and many scientists who have gotten to a location in time to put their name down first as am accredited discoverer of the plant.

Sunlight and Dioscorea villosa
This plant, Dioscorea villosa, is best grown in full sunlight. The plant can take some shade, but will not produce flowers or seeds.

Eye Appealing Plant
Wild Yam is often viewed as a pretty vine even though the dangling flower clusters aren't necessarily visible and flashy, the heart-shaped leaves are eye-catching and the fruit is unique, this distinguishes it from other vining plants in the U.S. An important note is that there is considerable variation in leaf size, degree of hairiness, leaf arrangement near the base of the stem, capsule and seed size and shape, and stem characteristics There have been attempts to separate the species into distinct varieties which were unsuccessful in the environmental scientist world. Wild Yam has long been used medicinally to treat a wide variety of conditions and ailments, though at least one study shows it may cause kidney damage.

USA Distribution of Dioscorea villosa:
AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV (33/50 states)

References