Air potato | Adathappu | Dioscorea bulbifera
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Dioscorea bulbifera L. (ITIS)
COMMON NAME:
Air potato, Air potato vine, air yam, bitter yam
NATIVE TO:
Asia and Africa (Overholt et al. 2003)
DATE OF U.S. INTRODUCTION:
First observed in the U.S. in Alabama in the 1770s; first introduced to Florida in 1905 (Gucker 2009)
MEANS OF INTRODUCTION:
Originally cultivated as a possible food crop and ornamental in the 1800s (Miller et al. 2010)
IMPACT:
Forms dense vines that smother native plants and trees (Overholt et al. 2008)
