Dioscorea bulbifera
- noun
- Specialized
:
ñame aéreo
- The Dioscorea bulbifera is known for its large, edible tubers.
Examples
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Farmers in Southeast Asia sometimes grow Dioscorea bulbifera for both food and traditional medicine.
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Many farmers in Africa cultivate Dioscorea bulbifera for its nutritional value.
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Dioscorea bulbifera is often called the air potato because of the aerial tubers it produces.
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Researchers study Dioscorea bulbifera to understand its nutritional value and potential health benefits.
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Dioscorea bulbifera is often called the air potato because of the aerial tubers it produces.
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Farmers in Southeast Asia sometimes grow Dioscorea bulbifera for both food and traditional medicine.
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Many farmers in Africa cultivate Dioscorea bulbifera for its nutritional value.
Synonyms
1
8.7
A climbing tropical vine with large edible round tubers that grow above ground
Surface Forms
Morphology
Dioscorea + bulbifera
The binomial form signals a species within the genus Dioscorea, so knowing 'Dioscorea' lets a learner infer it is a type of yam; however 'bulbifera' is a Latin epithet (not given in the dictionary) and its specific descriptive meaning ('bulb-bearing') is unlikely to be known to a B1 learner. Because the overall sense (a particular Dioscorea species) is partly recoverable from the genus but the species epithet and cultivation/tuber details are not fully predictable, the expression is semi-transparent.
Etymology
Dioscorea bulbifera has a name that tells its story: Dioscorea honors a Greek doctor named Dioscorides, and bulbifera is Latin for 'bearing bulbs' because the plant grows round, potato-like tubers in the air, which is why people call it the 'air potato'.