Summary
Place of publication:
Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 10(7):158. 1837
Verified:
03/24/2006
ARS Systematic Botanists.
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Reference(s)
- Aldén, B., S. Ryman & M. Hjertson. Våra kulturväxters namn - ursprung och användning. Formas, Stockholm (Handbook on Swedish cultivated and utility plants, their names and origin). 2009
- American Herbal Products Association. Herbs of commerce. 1992
- Duke, J. A. et al. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. 2002
- Erhardt, W. et al. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage. 2002
- FNA Editorial Committee. Flora of North America. 1993-
- Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. Flora SSSR. 1934-1964
- Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. Hortus third. 1976
- Mabberley, D. J. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2. 1997
- Ohwi, J. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.). 1965
- Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
- Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. World economic plants: a standard reference (on-line edition) [medicinal plants only].
- Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. Flora of China (English edition). 1994-
- Yen, Kun-Ying. Illustrated Chinese materia medica: crude drugs. 1980
Common names
English
Chinese yam – Chinese-potato – cinnamon-vine – French
igname – German
chinesische Yamswurzel – Japanese Rōmaji
naga-imo – Swedish
jams – Transcribed Chinese
shan yao – shu yu –
Distribution
| order_code | Status | Continent | Subcontinent | Country | State | Note |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Anhui | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Fujian | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Gansu | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Guangdong | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Guangxi | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Guizhou | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Hebei | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Henan | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Hubei | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Hunan | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Jiangsu | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Jiangxi | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Jilin | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Liaoning | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Shaanxi | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Shandong | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Sichuan | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Yunnan | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Zhejiang | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | Eastern Asia | Japan | Hokkaido | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | Eastern Asia | Japan | Honshu | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | Eastern Asia | Japan | Kyushu | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | Eastern Asia | Japan | Shikoku | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | Eastern Asia | Korea | | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | Eastern Asia | Taiwan | | |
| 2 | Cultivated | | | | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | | | | | |
Native
Asia-Temperate
-
CHINA:
China [Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang]
-
EASTERN ASIA:
Korea, Japan [Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku], Taiwan
Cultivated
()
Naturalized
()
Economic Uses
| Usage | Type | Note | Reference |
| Environmental | ornamental | | Al-Shehbaz, I. A. & B. G. Schubert. 1989. The Dioscoreaceae in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 70:73. |
| Human food | starch | | Uphof, J. C. T. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2. 1968 |
| Human food | vegetable | | Uphof, J. C. T. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2. 1968 |
| Medicines | folklore | | McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000 |
| Weed | | | Campbell, F. T., ed. Report of National Coalition of Exotic Plant Pest Councils. 1995 (unpublished draft) |
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System.
2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network
(GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://ausgenebank.agriculture.vic.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=14241.
Accessed 15 December 2025.