Dioscoreaceae

Air yam

Dioscorea bulbifera L.

Family: Dioscoreaceae
Genus: Dioscorea

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Air yam (Dioscorea bulbifera) — FlowerPhoto: Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (36)

ace: Ladong
Arabic: ديسقوريا بصلية
arz: ديسقوريا بصليه
Assamese: কাঠ আলু
ban: Ubi aung
Bangla: কাঠ আলু, বনআলু, বন মাছআলু
Burmese: မျောက်ဥပင်
Cantonese: 黃獨
Chinese: 山芋, 黃獨, 黄独, 山慈姑, 山慈菇, 獨黃, 薢萆川, 金錦吊蝦蟆
Czech: Smldinec bradavičnatý
dag: Firiginli
Divehi: މަތިވައް ކައްޓަލަ
English: Air yam, Bitter yam, Potato yam, Aerial yam, Air potato, Cheeky yam, Parsnip yam
French: Hoffe, Pomme-en-l'air
German: Luftkartoffel
Haitian Creole: Masòkò
Hausa: Kamu
Hindi: बाराही कन्द, गेंठी
Igbo: Ona, Aerial yam, Air potato, Air yam, Bitter yam, Checky yam, Parsnip yam, Potato yam
Indonesian: Gembolo
Japanese: カシュウイモ, ニガカシュウ
kai: Nzùmi
mad: Sosèyan
Malay: Ubi tum, Kentang angin, Ubi cina, Ubi kemili hutan, Ubi sentul, Ubi setong, Ubi takut babi
Malayalam: അടതാപ്പ്
Marathi: मटाळू, डुकरकंद, मटारू, वराह कंद, वर कंद
Nepali: गिठ्ठा
Portuguese: Cará-de-rama, Cará-de-árvore, Cará-do-ar, Cará-moela, Cará-taramela, Cará-voador, Inhame-do-ar
Russian: Диоскорея клубненосная
shn: တူၼ်ႈႁူဝ်ၶူဝ်ႇ, မၢၵ်ႇၶူဝ်ႇ
Slovenian: Gomoljasta dioskoreja
Tamil: பண்ணுக்கிழங்கு
Thai: ว่านสามพันตึง
Tongan: Hoi
Vietnamese: Khoai trời
za: Goyazbyah

Synonyms

Dioscorea anthropophagorum A.Chev.
Dioscorea anthropophagorum A.Chev. ex Jum.
Dioscorea bulbifera f. domestica (Makino) Makino & Nemoto
Dioscorea bulbifera var. albotuberosa Y.F.Zhou, Z.L.Xu & Y.Y.Hang
Dioscorea bulbifera var. anthropophagorum (A.Chev.) Summerh.
Dioscorea bulbifera var. brachybotryum Y.Y.Hang & Y.F.Zhou
Dioscorea bulbifera var. crispata (Roxb.) Prain
Dioscorea bulbifera var. elongata (F.M.Bailey) Prain & Burkill
Dioscorea bulbifera var. heterophylla (Roxb.) Prain & Burkill
Dioscorea bulbifera var. pulchella (Roxb.) Prain
Dioscorea bulbifera var. sativa Prain
Dioscorea bulbifera var. suavia Prain & Burkill
Dioscorea bulbifera var. vera Prain & Burkill
Dioscorea crispata Roxb.
Dioscorea heterophylla Roxb.
Dioscorea hoffa Cordem.
Dioscorea hofika Jum. & H.Perrier
Dioscorea korrorensis R.Knuth
Dioscorea latifolia Benth.
Dioscorea longipetiolata Baudon
Dioscorea perrieri R.Knuth
Dioscorea pulchella Roxb.
Dioscorea rogersii Prain & Burkill
Dioscorea sativa f. domestica Makino
Dioscorea sativa f. spontanea Makino
Dioscorea sativa var. elongata F.M.Bailey
Dioscorea sativa var. rotunda F.M.Bailey
Dioscorea tamifolia Salisb.
Dioscorea tenuiflora Schltdl.
Dioscorea violacea Baudon
Helmia bulbifera (L.) Kunth
Polynome bulbifera (L.) Salisb.

Flowers

In flower: August to September (from 27 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb, Vine
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Hawaii: introduced, Lower 48 states: introduced, Pacific Basin: introduced, Puerto Rico: introduced

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Agnes Trekker, CC0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Rejoice Gassah, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Michael Wolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Ethan, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Vengolis, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Tara Severns, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Vengolis, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Dioscorea

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.