Dioscorea cayenensis subsp. rotundata
Dioscorea cayenensis subsp. rotundata | |
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White yam | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Dioscoreales |
Family: | Dioscoreaceae |
Genus: | Dioscorea |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | D. c. subsp. rotundata
|
Trinomial name | |
Dioscorea cayenensis subsp. rotundata (
Poir.) J.Miège |
Dioscorea cayenensis subsp. rotundata, commonly known as the white yam, West African yam,[1] Guinea yam, or white ñame, is a subspecies[2] of yam native to Africa. It is one of the most important cultivated yams.[3] Kokoro is one of its most important cultivars.
It is sometimes treated as separate species from Dioscorea cayenensis.[1]
Domestication
Its wild progenitor is Dioscorea praehensilis[1] and possibly also D. abyssinica (by hybridization).[4] Domestication occurred in West Africa, along the south-facing Atlantic coast. There is insufficient documentation and as of 2009[update] insufficient research to determine how long ago that occurred.[5]
Distribution
D. c. subsp. rotundata is grown in West Africa, including countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria.[6]
Linguistics
Blench (2006) reconstructs the tentative
References
- ^ ISBN 9780759104655.
- ^ The Plant List: Dioscorea cayenensis subsp. rotundata
- ^ USDA PLANTS profile for Dioscorea rotundata
- .
- S2CID 205216444.
- ^ Biodiversity and domestication of yams in West Africa: Traditional practices leading to Dioscorea rotundata Poir. Roland Dumont et al. 2005, CIRAD-IPGRI