- Dioscorea transversa
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Dioscorea transversa Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Monocots Order: Dioscoreales Family: Dioscoreaceae Genus: Dioscorea Species: D. transversa Binomial name Dioscorea transversa Dioscorea transversa, Pencil yam, is a vine of eastern and northern Australia.
The leaves are heart-shaped, shiny, with 5-7 prominent veins. The seed pods are rounded, green or pink before drying to a straw brown papery texture. The edible tubers are typically slender and long. There are two forms: an eastern rainforest and wet sclerophyll form which doesn't have bulbils, and a northern form which occurs in open forests and has small bulbils and large inground tubers.[1]
Uses
The tubers are a staple food of Aborigines and are eaten after cooking, usually in ground ovens.
References
- ^ Low,T., Wild Food Plants of Australia, 1988. ISBN 0-207-16930-6
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