Dioscorea cayenensis subsp. rotundata

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Dioscorea cayenensis subsp. rotundata
White yam
Scientific classification Edit this 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 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

Niger-Congo languages) root -ku for D. rotundata.[1]

References