Dioscorea transversa
| Pencil yam | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Dioscoreales |
| Family: | Dioscoreaceae |
| Genus: | Dioscorea |
| Species: | D. transversa |
| Binomial name | |
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Dioscorea transversa R.Br. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Dioscorea punctata R.Br. |
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Dioscorea punctata R.Br.
Dioscorea transversa, the pencil yam, is a vine of eastern and northern Australia.
The leaves are heart-shaped, shiny, with 5-7 prominent veins. The seed pods are rounded, green or pink before drying to a straw brown papery texture. The edible tubers are typically slender and long. There are two forms: an eastern rainforest and wet sclerophyll form which doesn't have bulbils, and a northern form which occurs in open forests and has small bulbils and large inground tubers.
The tubers are a staple food of Australian Aboriginals and are eaten after cooking, usually in ground ovens.
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Wikipedia