Cush Cush Yam, Sweet yam
Dioscorea trifida

Family: Dioscoreaceae

What it is like

Dioscorea trifida or Cush Cush Yam is a perennial climbing plant with a tuberous rootstock and twining stems about 3 m long. It can be found in northern part of South America where it is widely cultivated for its edible tuber. The tubers can be boiled or baked. It is a flowering plant. The flowers are green with six tiny tepals in the axils. The fruit is a winged, lightly hairy capsule.

Dioscorea trifida is an evergreen Perennial Climber growing to 3 m (9ft) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Wind, Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 3

Where it is found

Not known

Northern S. America - Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas; C. America - Panama to Guatemala; eastern Caribbean.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Amazon, Antilles, Benin, Brazil, Burundi, Caribbean*, Central Africa, Central America, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, East Africa, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, North America, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, South America, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines - St. Vincent, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 4

Root - cooked. Boiled or baked, some forms have an excellent flavour. The cooked flesh is smooth in texture, attractive and of an unusually rich flavour that is readily appreciated and sufficiently moist in the mouth. Roots are about 15 - 20cm long and 6 - 8cm in diameter. The tuber is about 38% waxy starch that lacks amylose and has potential uses as a binder and thickener in food processing.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating: 0

Vines of other Dioscorea species are grown as ornamentals.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

A plant of the moist tropics and subtropics. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 18 - 26°c, but can tolerate 10 - 36°c. It can be killed by temperatures of 7°c or lower. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 2,600mm, but tolerates 1,000 - 4,000mm. This species grows better at lower temperatures than most tropical yams. Prefers a sunny position, tolerating some shade. For best yields, most yams require a deep, well-drained, sandy loam that is not liable to water-logging. This species will succeed in a wide range of soils so long as there is plenty of organic matter and they are well drained. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 6.7, tolerating 5.3 - 8. Daylengths of more than 12 hours are preferred during the early growing season since this encourages vegetative growth; daylengths of less than 12 hours towards the end of the growing season will encourage tuber formation and development. Crops can be obtained in 9 - 11 months from planting, yields of 15 - 20 tonnes per hectare have been achieved. Plants produce groups of 5 - 50 tubers from enlarged stolons or runners. This is perhaps the only cultivated yam species that has retained its full reproductive potential through seed formation. There are some named varieties. A dioecious species, both male and female plants need to be grown if seed is required.

Propagating it: Seed - sown in containers and planted out at the beginning of the growing season. Cuttings of tubers. Small tubers can be cut into 2 - 4 sections, larger ones into 6 - 8 sections. Each section should have 2 - 3 dormant buds. The cut tuber is often left in the sun for several hours to promote wound healing and reduce the risk of fungal infection.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Perennial Climber

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Aja e, Cara branco, Cara doce, Couche couche, Indian yam, Indienne, Inhame roxo, Kenke, Maona, Mapuey, Name blanco, Name, Sachapapa, Yampi yam,

Synonyms

Dioscorea brasiliana Poir. Dioscorea braziliensis Willd.