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Dioscorea buchananii

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Photo by
Robert Maijer. Not really sure about the ID.


Photo by Robert Maijer. Not really sure about the ID.


A drawing of D.b. subsp untidaloba.

Author: George Bentham, 1882
Family:  DIOSCOREACEAE
Origin:  Angola, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zaïre, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Soil:  Rich Mix
Water:  Medium
Sun:  Medium
Thickness:  30 Centimetres (Long)
Height:  9 Metres
Flower:  Greenish Brown
Propagate:  Seeds/Cuttings
Names:  -
Synonyms:  Dioscorea mildbraediana R. Knuth, 1934.
Dioscorea rhacodes
R. Knuth, 1937.
Dioscorea buchananii subsp. undatiloba, Wilkin.

This member of the Dioscoreaceae family was given this name by George Bentham in 1882. It is found in Angola, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zaïre, Zambia and Zimbabwe, growing in a rich but well drained soil with some water and some sun. The caudex can grow to 30 centimetres in length ,and the vines can reach nine metres.

Dioscorea is named after Pedianos Dioscorides, a Greek physician if the 1st century A.D. The species is named after John Buchanan, 1821-1903, a Scottish clergyman, living in South Africa.


The leaves by B.T. Wursten, Zambiaflora.com.


The flowers by B.T. Wursten, Zambiaflora.com.