Dioscorea japonica

Dioscorea japonica, known as East Asian mountain yam,[1] yamaimo, or Japanese mountain yam, is a type of yam (Dioscorea) native to Japan (including Ryukyu and Bonin Islands), Korea, China, Taiwan, and Assam.[2][3]

Dioscorea japonica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Monocots
Order:
Dioscoreales
Family:
Dioscoreaceae
Genus:
Dioscorea
Species:
D. japonica
Binomial name
Dioscorea japonica
Thunb. 1784

Dioscorea japonica is used for food. Jinenjo, also called the wild yam, is a related variety of Japanese yam that is used as an ingredient in soba noodles.

Mugitoro Gohan

Names

In Japanese, it is known as yamaimo (山芋) "mountain yam".[4]

Jinenjo (自然薯) "wild yam" is another kind of Dioscorea japonica, which is native to fields and mountains in Japan.

In Chinese it is known as Yěshān yào (野山药)[5] which translates to English as wild mountain medicine. Another name is Rìběnshǔyù (literally Japanese Yam; 日本薯蓣[3])

In Korean it is known as cham ma 참마, as well as dang ma 당마.

Chemistry

Dioscorea japonica contains the antimutagenic compounds eudesmol and paeonol.[6]

Varieties

Several formal botanical varieties have been proposed. Four are accepted:[2][3]

  1. Dioscorea japonica var. japonica - Japan, Korea, Ryukyu, Bonin, Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Zhejiang
  2. Dioscorea japonica var. nagarum Prain & Burkill - Assam
  3. Dioscorea japonica var. oldhamii R.Knuth - Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan
  4. Dioscorea japonica var. pilifera C.T.Ting & M.C.Chang - Anhui, Fujian, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang

Uses
Further information: Chinese yam § Uses

In Japanese cuisine, both the Japanese yam and the introduced Chinese yam are used interchangeably in dishes and recipes.[7]

References
  1. English Names for Korean Native Plants (PDF). Pocheon: Korea National Arboretum. 2015. p. 442. ISBN 978-89-97450-98-5. Retrieved 4 January 2017 – via Korea Forest Service.
  2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. "Dioscorea japonica in Flora of China @ efloras.org". Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  4. Ohwi, Jisaburo (1965). Meyer, Frederick G.; Walker, Egbert H. (eds.). Flora of Japan. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. p. 314. OCLC 742327504. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  5. "野山药".
  6. Antimutagenic Activity of (+)-β-Eudesmol and Paeonol from Dioscorea japonica. Mitsuo Miyazawa, Hideo Shimamura, Sei-ichi Nakamura and Hiromu Kameoka, J. Agric. Food Chem., 1996, 44 (7), pages 1647–1650, doi:10.1021/jf950792u
  7. Itoh, Makiko (2015-07-15). "'Yamaimo': Japan's slimy mountain yam". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
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