Common Name: winged yam
Family: Dioscoreaceae
Common Synonyms: Dioscorea atropurpurea, D. purpurea, D. sativa
USDA Hardiness Zone: 8a-10b
Growth Habit: Forb/Herb, Vine
Origin: Southeast Asia
FISC Category: 1
FDACS Listed Noxious Weed: Yes
Introduction Date: Introduced to the Americas in the 1500s but is a recent introduction to Florida (1900s)
IFAS Assessment:
Aggressive twining vine from a large underground tuber. Stems can be greater than 10 m in length. Internodes along the stem are square shaped with red-purple wings. Leaves have long petioles and are oppposite, although often leaves fall off leaving single leaves visible. Leaves are 20 cm or longer, heart shaped, narrow, with angular basal lobes. Dioceous species with male and female flowers on separate plants. The flowers are inconspicuous. Male flowers in panicles up to 30 cm long, while female flowers grow in smaller spikes. Fruit is a 3 parted capsule with winged seeds. Bulbils (aerial tubers) form in leaf axils and are elongate, to 10 cm long and 3 cm wide. They are rough and bumpy in texture.
Disturbed sites
Particularly devastating to coastal hammocks in south Florida. Has an 8-10 month growing season and experiences dormancy for 3-4 months.
NA
Langeland, K.A., H.M. Cherry, C.M. McCormick, K.C. Burks. 2008. Identification and Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas-Second Edition. IFAS Publication SP 257. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Langeland, K.A., J.A. Ferrell, B. Sellers, G.E. MacDonald, and R.K. Stocker. 2011. Integrated management of non-native plants in natural areas of Florida. EDIS publication SP 242. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
IFAS, Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. 2018. Dioscorea alata. http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/dioscorea-alata/. Accessed on June 11, 2018.
IFAS, UF. 2015. Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas. Dioscorea alata. https://assessment.ifas.ufl.edu/assessments/Dioscorea-alata/ Accessed June 11, 2018.