Dioscorea balcanica

Dioscorea balcanica is a herbaceous perennial in the family Dioscoreaceae.

Dioscorea balcanica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Dioscoreales
Family: Dioscoreaceae
Genus: Dioscorea
Species:
D. balcanica
Binomial name
Dioscorea balcanica
Košanin [1][2]

Description

Height 2–5 m. Flowers cup-shaped, arranged in racemes, producing loculicidal capsules.

Taxonomy

This species was named in 1914 by Nedeljko Kosanin (1874–1934), manager (1906–1934) of the Jevremovac botanical gardens in Belgrade, Serbia.[2]

Distribution

Balkans: Montenegro to North Albania (see map).[3] As such it is the only wild Dioscorea species found on the Balkan Peninsula where it is endemic. It is considered an endangered species and has been placed under protection.[4]

References
  1. Tropicos 2016.
  2. Košanin 1914.
  3. eMonocot 2014.
  4. Šavikin-Fodulović et al 1998.

Bibliography
  • "Dioscorea balcanica Košanin". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden.
  • "Dioscorea balcanica Košanin". eMonocot. 2014. Distribution maps
  • Košanin, Nedelyko (1914). "Dioscorea balcanica". Österreichische Botanische Zeitschrift (in German). 64: 38–39.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Šavikin-Fodulović, Katarina; Grubišić, Dragoljub; Ćulafić, Ljubinka; Menković, Nebojša; Ristić, Mihailo (June 1998). "Diosgenin and phytosterols content in five callus lines of Dioscorea balcanica". Plant Science. 135 (1): 63–67. doi:10.1016/S0168-9452(98)00036-3.
  • "Dioscorea balcanica". Hortipedia. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
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