Dioscorea pentaphylla - Mountain yam

Dioscorea pentaphylla is a perennial climbing plant producing annual stems from a perennial rootstock. These stems scramble over the ground or twine into the surrounding vegetation. The plant is widely cultivated in tropical areas of Asia for its edible root. It is also harvested from the wild because its slender tubers render its cultivation more difficult.

Uses

Boils, Swellings, Dysentery.

Parts Used

Root, Leaf.

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada	ಕಾಡು ಗುಂಬಳ Kaadu gumbala
Hindi	Kanta alu, Phal alu
Malayalam	Kattukizhangu, Marakkizhangu
Tamil	Kattu-valli, Nurai
Telugu	Adavi ginusu tiga, Adavi gummadi tiga
Marathi	Gaaboli, Mundavalya
Gujarathi	Nano jungli kand, Vajnu kand
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit	Kantakaluka
English	Cowan yam, Fiji yam

Properties

Reference: Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, Guna - Qualities, Veerya - Potency, Vipaka - Post-digesion effect, Karma - Pharmacological activity, Prabhava - Therepeutics.

Habit

Perennial climber

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
			Flowering season from July to December	{{{5}}}

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
					Fruiting season from July to December

Mode of Propagation

Seeds, Cuttings of tubers.

Commonly seen growing in areas

Scrub forests, Forest margins.

Photo Gallery

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External Links

• Dioscorea pentaphylla on flowersofindia.net
• Dioscorea pentaphylla on itis.gov