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Planting Yams

Yams are vines cultivated for ornament orfor their edible tubers. They are native to theSouth Pacific islands, but their culture hasspread to other tropical areas. Japan, China,Australia, India, Africa, the West Indies, SouthAmerica, and the southern tip of Florida allgrow yams. In many of these places, yamsprovide an important part of the diet. Thesweet potato is sometimes called a yam, but itis of an entirely different genus (Ipomoea).See also SWEET POTATO.

Most yams do best in near-tropical cli-mates. Their tubers may be planted any timeof the year in warm, sandy soil. Place them twoto three feet apart in rows about five feet apart.Some species produce their tubers aboveground in leaf axils; others produce them sofar underground that they are difficult to dig.For optimum yields, stake the vines.

The Chinese yam or cinnamon vine (D. Ba-tatas) bears cinnamon-scented flowers andaerial tubers which are used for propagation, aswell as large edible, deep-growing under-ground tubers. It is grown for ornament as wellas for food and is hardy as far north as NewYork although it will not always produce edibletubers. The air potato (D. bulbif era) has nobig underground tubers, but is grown in theSouth and in greenhouses for the odd tubersborne in the axils of the leaves which are some-times eaten like potatoes. Yams contain moreprotein and less starch than potatoes.

The yampee (D. trifida) is another south-

em vine with small underground tubers, prizedfor their flavor, while the wild yam (D. villosa)grows along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts andhas a woody rootstock. There are many otheredible species, mostly tropical, some of whichhave tubers weighing up to 100 pounds.

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