Dioscorea pubera Blume, Enum. Pl. Javae 1: 21 (1827) (syn: Dioscorea anguina Roxb. ; Dioscorea combilium Buch.-Ham. ex Wall. ; Dioscorea cornifolia Kunth);
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Central Himalaya to W. Malesia: Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Myanmar, Nepal, Sumatera as per POWO;
Tubers 1 or 2, narrowly cylindric, rootless few, flesh lemon yellow]. Plant shortly pubescent throughout. Stem twining to right, lacking prickles, bulbils apparently sometimes produced. Leaves alternate to subopposite, ovate (occasionally suborbicular), cuspidate to shortly caudate, base shallowly cordate, margins cartilaginous, 8-16.5 x 5.2-11.5(-17)cm, persistently pubescent beneath, scattered hairy becoming glabrous above; petiole usually shorter than blade. Male spikes in groups of (1-)6-8 on leafless axes; axes 4.5-38cm, sometimes branched below, borne singly or in unequal pairs in axils; spikes 1-2.5cm, very dense, flowers borne to base; bracts minute. Male flowers brownish, globose, sessile; sepals ovate, subacute, keeled, 1.2×0.8mm, hairy on outside; petals slightly smaller, glabrous; stamens 6; anthers 0.3 x 0.2mm, slightly exceeding filaments. Female spikes single or paired, axillary or widely divergent from short, axillary axils; spikes bearing distant flowers throughout. female flowers: sepals and petals shorter and wider than males; ovary densely pubescent; style stout, 0.4mm. Capsules forwardly directed, apex retuse, 1.8-2cm, wings suborbicular, 1.5-1.8cm wide, pubescent in angles. Seeds surrounded by brown wings to 0.8cm wide, ± circular in outline.
Fl. August-December, Fr. December-January
(Attributions: H.J Noltie.Flora of Bhutan. Published by RBGE. 1994 as per Bhutan Biodiversity Portal)
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141122 Dioscorea pubera: 5 high res. images.
Dioscorea pubera Blume (1827)
Location- Pal, Vengurla, Sindhudurg, MH.
Plant Habit- tuberous climber.
Inflorescence, Flowers, Fruits- not seen.
researchgate.net/publication/360344383 A_note_on_Dioscorea_pubera_Blume
Flora of Peninsular India. flora-peninsula-indica.ces.iisc.ac.in/herbsheet.php?id=3467&cat=7
Dioscorea: Named after Greek physician ‘Pedanius Dioscorides‘ (40-90 AD). en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedanius_Dioscorides
pubera: From Latin ‘puber‘ (pubescent) refer. to pubescent hairy stem and Leaves. en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/pubes#Latin
3. whole plant.
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References:
POWO Catalogue of Life GBIF (High resolution specimens) Annotated checklist of Flowering plants of Nepal Flora of peninsular India India Biodiversity Portal Bhutan Biodiversity Portal IBIS Flora (Flora of British India)
Dioscorea puber Blume.(Dioscoreaceae): a new addition to the flora of Manipur– Ummalyma SB, Devi RS, Kumar S- Adv Plants Agric Res. 2019;9(1):58‒59
A note on Dioscorea pubera Blume– Sanjeet Kumar and Rakhee Dimri- JBC-APRF-6(1): 471-471, 2022
