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Family:
Dioscoreaceae (yam family) Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants)
> Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering
plants) > Monocotyledons > Order: Dioscoreales
About 870 species in four genera, occurring worldwide in warm
regions. Dioscorea (yams)
is the only genus occurring in southern Africa, with 16 species native to this
region.
Genera native to southern Africa
Dioscorea
(yams)
The number of species in this cosmopilitan genus is quoted as anything
between 600 and about 860, of which 16 are native to southern Africa. The term yam in the USA often refers to a variety of sweet
potato rather than to true yams. Tubers cooked as a vegetable (high in starch). Diosgenin,
a precursor of progesterone and cortisone is produced commercially using a
number of species. |
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