DIOSCOREA COTINIFOLIA

This member of the Dioscoreaceae family was given this name by Knuth in 1850.

It is found in Eswatini, Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa, growing in a rich but drained soil with some to lots of water and some sun. The rhizomes will form clusters of five centimetres individual, eventually forming a huge caudex of 25 centimetres or more. The vines can reach three or even ten meters. The flowers are white. Dioscorea is named after Pedianos Dioscorides, a Greek physician if the 1st century A.D. The species name means 'having leaves like Cotinus'. Photo by Evelyn Durst. Photo by Evelyn Durst. Photo by Judith Maggi Fritschi.