Dioscorea communis (L.) Caddick & Wilkin / Homotypic Synonyms: Tamus communis L. it is a climbing tuberous geophyte perennial plant, 200-400 cm tall. Climbing, creeping among trees and shrubs. Tubers 20 cm or longer, cylindrical to obovate, black. Roots are velamen, fleshy, with longitudinal stripes. Feathers simple to stellate or “T” shaped. Its body is string-like, climbing (clockwise), sometimes branched, striped throughout, hairless. Leaves are dark green, glossy, 8-15(-24) × 4-11(-18) cm, entire, broadly obovate, cordate, sometimes 3-lobed; 3-9 veins, long-pointed tip; petiole 1-6 cm long. Inflorescence panicle; flower stalk 4-6 mm long. The flowers are dioecious, modest, yellowish or whitish green, 3-6(-10) mm in diameter, sometimes sterile. Male inflorescences are 5-10 cm in diameter; female inflorescences are smaller, 0.5-3 cm in diameter. Male flowers are singly or in clusters in lateral inflorescences; female flowers solitary or several in lateral inflorescences. The fruit is berry-like, bright red, spherical, 8-11 mm in diameter. Seeds 1-9 pieces, spherical, smooth or slightly rough, brownish red.
Flowering in: Feb-Jun.
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