Yams (not sweet potatoes!)

Laisla starts with ...
Hi all
I am trying to get my hands on some yams..I have never grown them (nor eaten them) but they look pretty interesting and are eaten by millions world, so Id like to try them. I am looking to get my hands on the real yams, not sweet potatoes which some people call yams erroneously. I am in Cairns. Anyone growing them?

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

speedy says...
I've grown a few different varieties and species of yam when I lived in subtropics.

Dioscorea alata- Winged yam - 2 varieties, a purple and a cream coloured one, both good.
D.bulbifera - 'Aerial potato' Cheeky yam - bitter and not worth the trouble if you have better ones
D.opposita - Yamaimo- the one used in traditional Japanese recipes.

That was years ago.
I only have a cream coloured D.alata now, but not growing seriously cause it's not suited to the climate here.

My advice would be to go to some local markets and find some Pacific Islander people and ask them.
They'll more than likely have several types and might be happy to give or sell you some pieces to grow.
or if you found some for sale, grow from them.
Use the pieces from the top part of the yam to start with.

Either way, you'll find them around Cairns for sure.

speedy says...
Yams do generally have heart shaped leaves but smaller than taro and they
grow on a long twining vine usually growing many metres (10-20m) up into trees.

one of the key features is that the veins in the leaf all come from where the petiole attaches.
It's a dead giveaway to identifying them anywhere in the world.

some are slightly poisonous eg. D.bulbifera- in Arnhem land they call it 'cheeky yam',
meaning poisonous and needs special preparation before eating.
Nothing to worry about though, the bitternes will be an obvious sign.

some vines are 'right handed' and some are 'left handed'.
D.alata is right handed. ie, grasping the vine with your thumb pointing up
and your fingers pointing inthe direction that the vine twines around it's support.
so looking from above right handed yams twine anti-clockwise and LH yams twine clockwise.
D.bulbifera is left handed.

Melinda says...
Can anyone tell me when Cheeky Yams begin to sprout? I want to try to grow one but I need to make sure I plant it at the right time of year.

CocoNut says...
oh and by the looks of the pic if you were to ask a Tongan the word for yam is "ufi" pronounced "oofee". lol. totally different from taro.