Family · Monocots

Dioscoreaceae

Yams

Mostly twining vines with starchy edible tubers; a staple food crop across the tropics.

Accepted species: 658accepted names · Kew WCVP
Genera: 4accepted genera · Kew WCVP
Origin: ≈62 MaPaleogene · crown age, Jin & Qian 2022 megatree
Centre of diversity: Southern Americamost native species · WGSRPD

Open Dioscoreaceae in the treePan, zoom and dig into its genera in the interactive view.

Plants you might know

Dioscorea (true yam)
Tacca (bat flower)

Genera

Dioscorea635 spp.
Tacca19 spp.
Stenomeris2 spp.
Trichopus2 spp.

Where it grows

Southern America349
Asia-Tropical130
Africa83
Northern America78
Asia-Temperate72
Australasia7
Pacific7
Europe5

Native species richness by botanical continent (WGSRPD level 1), from Kew WCVP.

Related families

Dioscoreaceae sits in the order Dioscoreales.