True Yams (Dioscorea) vs. "Sweet Potatoes" (Ipomea)

I just remembered that someone e-mailed me about the African Yellow Yam (vs. sweet potato) tubers they bought from me at the Sustainable Living event in Plant City some weeks ago...here is an overview:

1. Like all the other edible and medicinal yams, they are related to the Air Potato (Dioscorea bulbifera, used to treat menopause symptoms) and thus have the potential to become invasive in Florida and similarly mild climates, so each fall be sure to harvest and eat/plant the aerial tubers. 2. The leaves are NOT eaten unlike those of the unrelated various Sweet Potato cultivars (Ipomea batatas, an edible Morning Glory), just the large underground tubers and aerial tubers. 3. An aerial tuber planted now will lie dormant until late next spring, then ERUPT into growth when humid heat returns. Totally "Jack and the Freakin' Beanstalk growth rate! 4. Unlike the ground covering vines of Sweet Potatoes, the true Yams (Dioscorea species) send their growth UP onto trellises, fences, trees for support. 5. The true yams have been crucial staples in the tropics and subtropics for many centuries as they are very undemanding and productive...an aerial tuber the size of a small egg when planted can weigh 5 pounds or more when dug up a year later. I once grew the Hispanic name' I bought at a market for 5 years...when I dug it up it weighed 65 pounds and was not the least bit woody. 6. The true yams are slimy like mega-okra when sliced raw, but when baked, fried or boiled, the taste and texture resemble a high quality white potato. They are also very nutritious. For detailed nutritional data look them up at hortpurdue.com 7. They have few if any pests beyond chronically swampy soil. They are VERY drought tolerant. 8. While the true yams have the potential to become invasive if grown carelessly, they are SO very productive, and since VERY few edible crops we rely on to stay healthy and alive are native to Florida, I have relied on them as a staple since 2003. 9. Most folks do not eat the aerial tubers, just the big mother tubers underground. To me, the African Yellow Yam has proved to be EXTREMELY vigorous but I am not liking the taste of the aerial tubers anywhere as much as the underground mother tubers of the wonderful Hispanic/Caribbean name', (I will soon taste THEIR white-fleshed aerial tubers for the first time), the Chinese White Yam (Dioscorea alata) and my treasured ultra-rare Filipino 'ube' purple yam (Dioscorea alata var. violacea).....see attached pics of the later....cooking deepens the purple color. Filipinos also use ube to make a DELICIOUS lavender icecream! I love to slice any of the true yams (I have NOT yet tasted the mother tuber of the African Yellow Yam but will soon) and fry them SLOWLY, covered, in a skillet with coconut oil, roasted sesame oil, sea salt and garlic, sometimes hot peppers, until browned on both sides and the slime inside cooked until it is gone. A long time friend, who, unlike me, eats totally normal American food, LOVES them when I serve yams cooked this way to her and her hubby...she says they taste like a French fry made from an Idaho potato.....I agree with that yummy comparison. 10. Since food self sufficiency in south Tampa is a central life focus for me, I would not want to be without the true yams. I hope this overview proves helpful. From now through March my collection of yams growing on my back fences will provide me and friends a VERY great deal of tasty and nutritious food, easily hundreds of pounds. What's cool is that they keep in the ground indefinitely until needed! John