Very awesome man! Just let me know when you have anything ready to trade/sell. I'm down for any and all edible yam varieties. You've done the work I've planned to do for some time. I'm a survival gardening minded guy and seek to have many varieties in the event of who knows what. Yams are perfect for such application being that they need very little attention over time with potential to be heavy producers. Got other root veggies that may interest you whenever.
DG
Yams are productive and, as far as I'm concerned, the tastiest roots. I'm looking forward to the trade, it'll be the first time I make something available forum-wide. I hope I manage to get good material safely to everyone involved.
I have some varieties of yam in my garden. Is there any manual/book describing the varieties which could help me to classify my varieties ?
The book links I posted in my last post explain the anatomy of the varieties, but I'll sum up the information on the most prominent distinctions. When talking about leaves, I mean the leaves on the upper portion of mature vines. Leaves on the lowest portion, as well as on young vines, can sometimes develop in a different configuration (usually alternate on a vine that otherwise has paired leaves).
Vines that twist to the left (lower right to upper left: the "S" twist):
D. esculenta
D. bulbifera
D. trifida
D. pentaphylla
D. dumetorum
Vines that twist to the right (lower left to upper right: the "Z" twist):
D. rotundata & cayennensis
D. alata
D. nummularia
D. transversa
D. polystachya
D. japonica
D. hamiltonii
Paired Leaves:
D. rotundata & cayennensis
D. alata
D. nummularia
D. polystachya
D. japonica
D. hamiltonii
Alternate Leaves:
D. esculenta
D. bulbifera
D. trifida
D. transversa
D. pentaphylla
D. dumetorum
Pentaphylla leaves are divided into 5 leaflets, dumetorum into 3, the rest are singular. Trifida leaves are somewhat palmate, and other than the rounded leaflets of pentaphylla and dumetorum, the rest are heart-shaped (with varying ratios of length-breadth and varying degrees of rounded to angular corners).
Trifida, alata and hamiltonii stems have ridges/wings (which can be substituted by corresponding ridges of spines in some varieties of alata). Rotundata, cayennensis, esculenta, pentaphylla and dumetorum stems tend to be spined or prickly; the rest are smooth (though some species, like nummularia, can have prickles at the base). Bulbifera and nummularia have round stems, polystachya has a square stem. Dumetorum is highly pubescent/fuzzy.
Bulbifera has round bulbils (usually large, but tiny ones are also produced), polystachya and japonica bulbils can be round or oval, and are always small. Alata bulbils are ovoid to long & irregular, and are small to medium sized. Pentaphylla bulbils (allegedly not edible) are small to medium sized and horseshoe shaped, and dumetorum bulbils (probably toxic) are spiny. I'm not sure how transversa bulbils are, but only some varieties produce them. The rest don't usually produce bulbils. Bulbifera is a reliable producer of bulbils, whereas not all varieties of alata produce bulbils (and those that do aren't usually as productive as bulbifera).
Those are the main distinctions, but there's always variation among the species listed, never mind those that I didn't get to list, which should have further differences. Can you take closeup pictures of your vines? Leaves, lower and upper stems and how the stems curl? They might be easy to identify right here.
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My Ube kept declining, so after examining the roots (which already had a new tuber forming, with the old tuber not fully deteriorated) I cut the vine to a stump (hoping for it to branch, or for a new one to form from the base) and replanted it in a small pot for observation. I accidentally knocked off the old tuber, and I'm really hoping I can get a second vine from it.
The first mystery yam bulbils have rotted away. Only two remain, and I think they'll rot soon enough. The second mystery yam (sold as D. pseudo-tomentosa) arrived in the mail, suspiciously packaged identically to the first mystery yam, despite being a separate Thai eBay seller. That said, while dry, they definitely seemed to be in much better condition, and even seemed to have some sprouts forming. I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll get them to grow without losing them. Here's some pics:
The pentaphylla bulbils have yet to arrive, and I'm a little worried about the state they'll be in. I'm also waiting on an alata (which I bought thinking I'd get a dumetorum due to the photos used), a cayennensis, and some non-Dioscoreas: an Elephant-foot Yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius), some Ensete ventricosum seeds and Roy's Hogdsonia seeds. It's exiting to expect something in the mail every day, and a little nerve-wracking (you'll never know when it'll arrive and in what state it'll be in).
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