Yam (vegetable)

Yam

Subclass of	root vegetable
Natural product of taxon	Dioscorea

Yam be de common name give sam plant species insyd de genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae) wey dey form edible tubers (sam oda species insyd de genus be toxic).

Yams be perennial herbaceous vines native to Africa, Asia, den de Americas wey e be cultivated for de consumption of dema starchy tubers insyd chaw temperate den tropical regions. De tubers demaselves, dem sanso call "yams", dey cam insyd a variety of forms wey dey owe to chaw cultivars den related species.

Description

A monocot wey relate to lilies den grasses, yams be vigorous herbaceous, perennially dey grow vines from a tuber. Sam 870 species of yams be known, a few of wich be widely grown for dema edible tuber buh odas of wich be toxic (such as D. communis).

Yam plants fi grow up to 15 metres (50 feet) in length den 7 to 15 centimetres (3 to 6 inches) high. De tuber fi grow into de soil up to 1.5 m (5 ft) deep. De plant dey disperse by seed.

De edible tuber get a rough skin wey be difficult to peel buh readily soften by cooking. De skins dey vary in color from dark brown to light pink. De majority, anaa meat, of de vegetable be composed of a much softer substance wey dey range insyd color from white anaa yellow to purple anaa pink insyd mature yams.

Etymology

De name "yam" dey appear to derive from Portuguese inhame anaa Canarian Spanish ñame, wich derive from Fula, one of de West African languages during trade. However, insyd Portuguese, dis name commonly dey refer to de taro plant (Colocasia esculenta) from de genus Colocasia, as opposed to Dioscorea.

De main derivations borrow from verbs wey dey mean "to eat". True yams get various common names across multiple world regions.

Insyd sam places, other (unrelated) root vegetables sam times be referred to as "yams", wey dey include:

• Insyd de United States, sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), especially those plus orange flesh, often be referred to as "yams"

• Insyd Australia, na de tubers of de Microseris walteri, anaa yam daisy, be a staple food of Aboriginal Australians insyd sam regions.
• Insyd New Zealand, oca (Oxalis tuberosa) be typically referred to as "yam".
• Insyd Malaysia den Singapore, taro (Colocasia esculenta) be referred to as "yam".
• Insyd Africa, South den Southeast Asia as well as de tropical Pacific islands dem dey grow Amorphophallus paeoniifolius wey e be known as "elephant foot yam".

Distribution den habitat

Yams be native to Africa, Asia, den de Americas. Na three species be independently domesticated on those continents: D. rotundata (Africa), D. alata (Asia), den D. trifida (South America).

Ecology

Sam yams be invasive plants, dem often consider a noxious weed outsyd cultivated areas.

Cultivation

Production

Insyd 2020, na world production of yams be 75 million metric tons (74,000,000 long tons; 83,000,000 short tons), wey Nigeria lead plus 67% of de total (table).

Map of worldwide yam production wey dey show limited production range (Caribbean, West Africa, den Polynesia)

Uses

Comparison to oda staple foods

Nutrient content of 10 major staple foods per 100 g dry weight

Staple	Maize (corn)[A]	Rice, white[B]	Wheat[C]	Potatoes[D]	Cassava[E]	Soybeans, green[F]	Sweet potatoes[G]	Yams[Y]	Sorghum[H]	Plantain[Z]	RDA
Water content (%)	10	12	13	79	60	68	77	70	9	65
Raw grams per 100 g dry weight	111	114	115	476	250	313	435	333	110	286
Nutrient
Energy (kJ)	1698	1736	1574	1533	1675	1922	1565	1647	1559	1460	8,368–10,460
Protein (g)	10.4	8.1	14.5	9.5	3.5	40.6	7.0	5.0	12.4	3.7	50
Fat (g)	5.3	0.8	1.8	0.4	0.7	21.6	0.2	0.6	3.6	1.1	44–77
Carbohydrates (g)	82	91	82	81	95	34	87	93	82	91	130
Fiber (g)	8.1	1.5	14.0	10.5	4.5	13.1	13.0	13.7	6.9	6.6	30
Sugar (g)	0.7	0.1	0.5	3.7	4.3	0.0	18.2	1.7	0.0	42.9	minimal
Minerals	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA
Calcium (mg)	8	32	33	57	40	616	130	57	31	9	1,000
Iron (mg)	3.01	0.91	3.67	3.71	0.68	11.09	2.65	1.80	4.84	1.71	8
Magnesium (mg)	141	28	145	110	53	203	109	70	0	106	400
Phosphorus (mg)	233	131	331	271	68	606	204	183	315	97	700
Potassium (mg)	319	131	417	2005	678	1938	1465	2720	385	1426	4700
Sodium (mg)	39	6	2	29	35	47	239	30	7	11	1,500
Zinc (mg)	2.46	1.24	3.05	1.38	0.85	3.09	1.30	0.80	0.00	0.40	11
Copper (mg)	0.34	0.25	0.49	0.52	0.25	0.41	0.65	0.60	-	0.23	0.9
Manganese (mg)	0.54	1.24	4.59	0.71	0.95	1.72	1.13	1.33	-	-	2.3
Selenium (μg)	17.2	17.2	81.3	1.4	1.8	4.7	2.6	2.3	0.0	4.3	55
Vitamins	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA
Vitamin C (mg)	0.0	0.0	0.0	93.8	51.5	90.6	10.4	57.0	0.0	52.6	90
Thiamin (B1) (mg)	0.43	0.08	0.34	0.38	0.23	1.38	0.35	0.37	0.26	0.14	1.2
Riboflavin (B2) (mg)	0.22	0.06	0.14	0.14	0.13	0.56	0.26	0.10	0.15	0.14	1.3
Niacin (B3) (mg)	4.03	1.82	6.28	5.00	2.13	5.16	2.43	1.83	3.22	1.97	16
Pantothenic acid (B5) (mg)	0.47	1.15	1.09	1.43	0.28	0.47	3.48	1.03	-	0.74	5
Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.69	0.18	0.34	1.43	0.23	0.22	0.91	0.97	-	0.86	1.3
Folate Total (B9) (μg)	21	9	44	76	68	516	48	77	0	63	400
Vitamin A (IU)	238	0	10	10	33	563	4178	460	0	3220	5000
Vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol (mg)	0.54	0.13	1.16	0.05	0.48	0.00	1.13	1.30	0.00	0.40	15
Vitamin K1 (μg)	0.3	0.1	2.2	9.0	4.8	0.0	7.8	8.7	0.0	2.0	120
Beta-carotene (μg)	108	0	6	5	20	0	36996	277	0	1306	10500
Lutein+zeaxanthin (μg)	1506	0	253	38	0	0	0	0	0	86	6000
Fats	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA
Saturated fatty acids (g)	0.74	0.20	0.30	0.14	0.18	2.47	0.09	0.13	0.51	0.40	minimal
Monounsaturated fatty acids (g)	1.39	0.24	0.23	0.00	0.20	4.00	0.00	0.03	1.09	0.09	22–55
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (g)	2.40	0.20	0.72	0.19	0.13	10.00	0.04	0.27	1.51	0.20	13–19
	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA

^A raw yellow dent corn

^B raw unenriched long-grain white rice

^C raw hard red winter wheat

^D raw potato plus flesh den skin

^E raw cassava

^F raw green soybeans

^G raw sweet potato

^H raw sorghum

^Y raw yam

^Z raw plantains

^/* unofficial

External links

• "Yam crop improvement". International Institute for Tropical Agriculture.