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Yam family
Dioscoreaceae
ใคใใใคใข็ง
A family including Dioscorea japonica, D. bulbifera, and D. tokoro. Famous for large edible tubers, widely distributed in tropical and temperate regions. Most species are climbing plants and dioecious.
Key Characteristics
- โMostly climbing plants; twining direction (left or right) is species-specific
- โLarge underground tubers or bulbils
- โDioecious
- โLeaves cordate with arcuate parallel venation
- โFlowers small with 6 tepals
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values โ multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite
Leaf type
Simple / Compound
Venation
Palmate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Herb / Vine
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Compound type
Palmate
Leaf dissection
Dissected / Undivided
Stipules
Present / Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
6 petals
Ovary position
Inferior
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Monocots > Dioscoreales > Dioscoreaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous (ca. 90โ80 Ma)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ใปEstablishment of storage strategy via large tubers for surviving dry and winter seasons
- ใปAdaptation to forest-edge and climbing ecology through the twining habit
Plants in Yam family on this site
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