Dioscorea elephantipes

Dioscorea elephantipes
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Dioscoreales
Family:	Dioscoreaceae
Genus:	Dioscorea
Species:	D. elephantipes
Binomial name
Dioscorea elephantipes (L'Hér.) Engl.

Dioscorea elephantipes (elephant's foot or Hottentot bread; syn. Testudinaria elephantipes), is a species of flowering plant in the genus Dioscorea of the family Diascoreaceae, native to south west South Africa. It is a deciduous climber. It takes the name "elephant's foot" from the appearance of its large, partially buried, tuberous stem, which grows very slowly but often reaches a considerable size, often more than 3 m (10 ft) in circumference with a height of nearly 1 m (3 ft 3 in) above ground. It is rich in starch, whence the name Hottentot bread, and is covered on the outside with thick, hard, corky plates. It develops slender, leafy, climbing shoots with dark-spotted, greenish-yellow flowers in summer.

In cultivation in temperate areas, D. elephantipes requires the protection of a heated greenhouse. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Gallery

• 
  The large tuberous stem of Dioscorea elephantipes at the botanical garden of Villa Durazzo-Pallavicini, Genova Pegli.
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  Leaves
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  Flowers

References

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Dioscorea elephantipes

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)