A monocot related to lilies and grasses, yams are vigorous herbaceous, perennially growing vines from a tuber. Some 870 species of yams are known, a few of which are widely grown for their edible tuber but others of which are … See more

Yams are cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in many temperate and tropical regions, especially in West Africa, South America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Oceania. About 95% of yam crops are grown in Africa.
A yam crop begins … See more

Nutrition
Raw yam has only moderate nutrient density, with appreciable content (10% or more of the Daily Value, DV) limited to potassium See more

The name "yam" appears to derive from Portuguese inhame or Canarian Spanish ñame, which derived from Fula, one of the West African languages See more

Yams are native to Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Three species were independently domesticated on those continents: See more

Unlike cassava, most varieties of edible, mature, cultivated yam do not contain toxic compounds. However, there are exceptions. Bitter compounds tend to accumulate in immature tuber tissues of white and yellow yams. These may be polyphenols or See more

Historical records in West Africa and of African yams in Europe date back to the 16th century. Yams were taken to the Americas through precolonial Portuguese and Spanish on the … See more