Dioscorea batatas

Flower name
Dioscorea batatas
Scientific name
Dioscorea batatas
Alias長芋, Chinese yam, チャイニーズ・ヤム
Place of originChina
Place of floweringField
Flowering seasonJuly, August

What is Dioscorea batatas

Dioscorea batatas , Chinese yam, or cinnamon vine (scientific name: Dioscorea batatas) is a perennial vine belonging to the family Dioscoreaceae and native to China. It is also called "Chinese yam" because it is native to China, and "cinnamon vine" because its flowers have a cinnamon scent. The vine length is 2 to 3 meters. The vine and petiole are reddish purple. The leaves are thick and glossy, 3-7 cm long and 2-7 cm wide, and have a long heart-shaped (arrowhead) shape with the base protruding auricularly on both sides.
It is dioecious. It produces small white flowers in summer in racemes. It has six petals and rarely flowers. It is produced in Hokkaido, Aomori and Nagano prefectures in Japan. The part eaten as a potato is neither the root nor the stem, but the enlarged underground portion called the basal root. The buds attached to the axils of the leaves of the female flowers are called "mukago" and are edible. It is also dried and used in Chinese herbal medicines. Harvested in the fall, it is stored and shipped throughout the year. The long, soft, light-yellow roots with hairs growing on them look like the legs and shin hairs of an adult male.

What are the three groups of potatoes?
There are three groups of potatoes. The three groups of potatoes are: the potato group, in which the potato is cylindrical; the tsukunaimo group, in which the potato is round; and the ginkgo imo group, in which the potato is ginkgo shaped and flat like the yamato-imo (yamatoimo).

Potato Cooking
Potatoes are grated and made into dishes such as Tororo gohan (rice with grated yam), Tororo soba (buckwheat noodles with grated yam), and yamakake (a type of fish cake), or cut into strips or shredded and eaten with vinegar and soy sauce. In Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture, there is a rare shochu called rokusyu made from yam.

Relationship between Potatoes and Jinensho
Potatoes are a cultivated variety of Japanese mountain yam (scientific name: Dioscorea japonica) with high water content and little stickiness. Some species grow wild in the mountains and fields.

The genus name Dioscorea is a dedication to the ancient Greek physician and botanist Dioscorides.

Common name: Dioscorea batatas, scientific name: Chinese yam, cinnamon vine, Origin: China, Vine length: 2 to 3 m, Max. Diameter: 23.5 cm, Weight: 680 g, Petiole: 2-3 cm long, Leaf length: 3-7 cm, Leaf width: 2-7 cm, Leaf shape: oblong, Stipules: opposite, Stem/petiole/vein color: purple, Dioecious, Flowering site: leaf axils, Inflorescence form: raceme, Male inflorescence: upright, Corolla shape: globose, Flower color: white for both sexes, Flower diameter: small, Petals number: Flowering season: July to September; Female inflorescence: beaded; Diameter of beaded: 1 cm; Rhizome: cylindrical; Fruit type: capsule; Harvest: twice a year in spring and fall; Uses: edible and medicinal.