Dioscorea nipponica seed

LATIN NAME: Dioscorea nipponica

COMMON NAME: Nippon Yam

The Nippon yam is a handsome, twining, perennial climbing herb of the woodlands, and its fine, broad, heart-shaped or arrow-shaped leaves and its small, inconspicuous, greenish flowers, followed by the small, three-winged, dry capsules of the fine, winged seeds, have made it a treasured and fine plant of the region. It grows as a twining, perennial climbing herb, reaching up to three metres or more, with the slender, twining, climbing stems bearing the alternate, broad, heart-shaped or arrow-shaped, long-stalked leaves and, through the summer, the small, inconspicuous, greenish flowers, followed by the small, three-winged, dry capsules of the fine, flattened, winged seeds. It is a species of the flowering climbing plant in the yam family, and it is native to the woodlands of the eastern Asia, while it grows in the open, moist places, and it is known as the Nippon yam.

In the yam family it is the heart-leaved climber of the eastern woodlands, a plant whose roots carry the old reputation of the region.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The Nippon yam roots are a familiar name in the traditional plant chemistry of the eastern Asia, and the constituents have been examined with the greatest care by the researchers across the world. The woodland botanists have mapped its place in the yam family and the eastern flora, and the food scientists have kept the yams of the world in their studies as a fine food of the many lands. The plant is best appreciated as a subject of study rather than a casual home remedy, and the growers of the trellis and the woodland garden keep it in their collections.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the woodland garden, the Nippon yam is the twining climber of the shaded trellis. Its small flowers feed the insects, and the broad, heart-shaped leaves give the trellis and the woodland edge a fine, green cover through the summer. The roots have served the traditional ways of the region, and the yams of the world are a fine food of the many lands. It grows well in the moist, leafy ground of the open, sheltered spot. Heart-leaved, twining and long-valued.

The seeds come with their own little wings — sow them onto the surface of pots of moist, free-draining soil and barely cover them, keep the pots in a bright, sheltered spot and water them gently, and they’ll be up before long.