DIOSCOREACEAE
Morphological description
Climbers with an underground fleshy rhizome. Hardly climbing (Trichopus); stems bearing bulbils (Dioscorea bulbifera)
Leaves
Leaves simple, alternate, 3 or more parallel nerves, cordate, glandular, petiole bipulvinate. Sometimes leaves palmately compound (Dioscorea sect. Lasiophyton)
Inflorescence
Inflorescence dioecious
Flowers
Flower tepals in 2 rows of 3; ovary inferior, 3-locular.
Fruit
Fruit a winged capsule.
Seed
Seed winged. seeds wingless (Trichopus).
Different from: Menispermaceae: leaves never opposite, fruit never winged. - Stemonaceae: leaves with strongly scalariform venation, ovary superior, 1-locular. - Smilacaceae: tendril bearing, ovary superior.
Distribution: The family pantropical. In Malesia 3 genera of which Dioscorea is represented with many species.
Notes: Many species of Dioscorea have edible tubers, some species are used medicinally, several species are poisonous.
Literature: I. H. Burkill, Fl. Males. I, 4 (1951) 293-335.
Spot characters (Van Balgooy): Dioscoreaceae 28 - Dioscorea 5, 6, 12, 13, 15, 27, 31, 48, 52, 63, 64, 78, 98, 102 - Stenomeris 98, 102 - Trichopus 6, 85, 105.
Illustrations: Fig. 72. Dioscorea bulbifera L. (Dioscoreaceae), showing a stem which twines to the left, a leaf with its characteristic ladder-like secondary venation, and a male inflorescence. Reproduced from Flora Malesiana I, 4 (1951).
Image in PhytoImages for Dioscoreaceae