Rhizoma Dioscoreae seed
LATIN NAME: DIOSCOREA OPPOSITA
COMMON NAME: Chinese Yam
The Chinese yam tubers the twining, climbing stems with the glossy, heart-shaped, green leaves and the small, greenish-white flowers that open through the summer, the long, slender, edible tubers growing down into the deep soil. The vines climb the supports with the steady growth, and the tubers grow long and straight in the loose ground. It likes the sun or the part shade, and the deep, light, well-drained soil.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
In the yam family, the Chinese yam has a long, useful record in the studies of the root crops, and the opposita species appears in the research on the tuber starch and the mucilage. The food scientists value the versatile starch, while the pharmacologists note the traditional preparations. The seed biology fills out the picture, and the growers of the traditional root vegetables keep the species in their catalogues.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
In the kitchen garden, the Chinese yam tubers the long roots down into the loose soil. The tubers serve the cooking, the soups and the traditional preparations for the ages, they keep well in the cool store, and the glossy, heart-shaped leaves cover the trellis. It thrives in the deep, light, well-drained ground. Steady, useful and deep-rooting.
To grow the Chinese Yam from seed,
Press the seeds into the sandy, gritty rows of the warm pot, then cover them lightly, keep the pot in the warm, bright spot and water gently
Keep the pot warm and steadily moist, and give the young vine a support to climb. The long tubers come over the seasons.
. The seedlings thread up within a few weeks, and they grow on steadily. Settle the young vines in the deep, light, well-drained ground, and the long tubers will grow down over the seasons.
Rhizoma Dioscoreae contains large amounts of mucilage. Mucilage is a thick, slimy substance produced by plants. It has a soothing effect on mucous membranes, such as the tissues that line the respiratory passages. This may explain why Rhizoma Dioscoreae is effective at relieving cough.
Traditional Chinese medicine classifies Rhizoma Dioscoreae as neutral and sweet. It serves to tonify and augment the spleen and stomach; augment the lung yin and tonify the lung qi; and stabilize, tonify, and bind the kidneys. Rhizoma Dioscoreae enters through the spleen, lung, and kidney channels (meridians). It is used as a tonic (restores tone to tissues).
Rhizoma Dioscoreae is used to treat weak digestion with fatigue and diarrhea, general weakness, frequent urination, decreased appetite, leukorrhagia (excessive vaginal discharge), premature ejaculation, the symptoms associated with iabetes, and chronic wheezing (whistling sound caused by breathing difficulty) and oughing.
