There’s something about this vine that I just love. Have you seen it in a forest near you? It’s called Wild Yam, Dioscorea villosa. Common names include, Devil’s Bones, Colic Root, 4 Leaf Yam and Whorled Yam. There are 600 different species of wild yam in the world, with 6 occurring in Other America. I think it’s the heart-shaped leaves that have those gorgeous palmate veins on them, or the way the plant doesn’t wear out its welcome like some other more vigorous vines. Here on our property in the woods it is common. I’m going to transplant some to a pot and add it to the other lovely plants on my deck. This one is native, though some, like Chinese Yam are not. When I searched for a photo of the non-native one, I couldn’t find one, which in a way is great as it means we probably don’t have it here on our property. It is less heart-shaped, and more thin at the top.
Wild Yam is dioecious, which means flowers on any one plant are either male or female. Examples of other dioecious (that’s a lot of vowels, right!?) are Holly, Willow, Poplar, Mistletoe, Ginko, Mulberry, American Bittersweet, and Aspen trees.
Wild Yam is insect pollinated and is common throughout the eastern part of North America, north to Canada and south to Florida, west as far as Texas. You can find it growing in shady woods, sometimes twining around other plants or trees.
Are you up for maybe one or two more plants before we switch tracks and feature some animals for our puzzler? This next puzzler often grows in similar places as the Wild Yam. It has three distinctive leaves, along with three pink petals. Sound familiar?