Dioscorea cayennensis subsp. rotundata
Dioscorea cayennensis subsp. rotundata, commonly known as the white yam, West African yam,[1] Guinea yam, or white ñame, is a subspecies[2] of yam native to Africa. It is one of the most important cultivated yams.[3] Kokoro is one of its most important cultivars.
| Dioscorea cayennensis subsp. rotundata | |
|---|---|
 | |
| White yam | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Dioscoreales |
| Family: | Dioscoreaceae |
| Genus: | Dioscorea |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | D. c. subsp. rotundata |
| Trinomial name | |
| Dioscorea cayennensis subsp. rotundata (Poir.) J.Miège | |
It is sometimes treated as separate species from Dioscorea cayennensis.[1]
Its wild progenitor is Dioscorea praehensilis.[1]
Distribution
D. c. subsp. rotundata is grown in West Africa, including countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria.[4]
Linguistics
Blench (2006) reconstructs the tentative Proto-Niger-Congo (i.e., the most recent common ancestor of the Niger-Congo languages) root -ku for D. rotundata.[1]
References
- Blench, Roger (2006). Archaeology, language, and the African past. Altamira Press. ISBN 9780759104655.
- The Plant List: Dioscorea cayennensis subsp. rotundata
- USDA PLANTS profile for Dioscorea rotundata
- Biodiversity and domestication of yams in West Africa: Traditional practices leading to Dioscorea rotundata Poir. Roland Dumont et al. 2005, CIRAD-IPGRI
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