Dioscoreaceae FAMILY

Dioscorea nipponica

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Dioscorea nipponica is a perennial climbing plant growing from a many-branched, horizontal, spreading rhizome that is 15mm or more thick; it produces a number of twining stems up to 5 metres long, the stems twining to the left[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for use as a source of compounds that are used in the pharmaceutical industry to manufacture a range of steroidal medications.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeE. Asia - Russian Far East, northern and central China, Korea, northern and central Japan

HabitatMixed forests, scrub forests, warm-temperature transitional areas; at elevations from 100 - 1,800 metres[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ].