Dioscorea cayennensis rotundata
Dioscorea cayennensis rotundata
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant of the moist tropics. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 25 - 32°c, but can tolerate 15 - 38°c[1]. It can be killed by temperatures of 9°c or lower[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 800 - 3,000mm[1]. Prefers a well-defined dry season of 4 - 6 months[1]. For best yields, yams generally require a deep, well-drained, sandy loam that is not liable to water-logging[2]. This species is more tolerant of heavier soils with an appreciable clay content[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 6.4 - 6.7, tolerating 5.8 - 8.5[1]. 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[2].Plants take 7 - 9 months to reach maturity and yields in the range of 16 - 20 tonnes per hectare have been achieved[2]. The tubers are formed close to the surface of the soil[3]. Early maturing tubers can be carefully removed without damaging the growing plant, allowing a second crop to be produced[2]. White yams can be stored for longer than other yams, sometimes for several months[2]. There are many named varieties - those from W. Africa are generally considered to have the best flavour[2]. A dioecious species, both male and female plants need to be grown if seed is required.
Propagation
Seed - rarely produced, it is not normally used to propagate this species. Seeds are sometimes available for propagation in West Africa[2]. 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[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Dioscorea+cayennensis+rotundata>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [2]Vegetables in the Tropics — Tindall. H. D. · MacMillan, Oxford. · 1983 · ISBN 0-333-24268-8 ↩︎An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants.
- [3]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/