Air yam vs Water yam

Dioscorea bulbifera compared with Dioscorea alata

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Air yam	Water yam
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order same	Dioscoreales (Dioscoreales)	Dioscoreales (Dioscoreales)
Family same	Dioscoreaceae	Dioscoreaceae
Genus same	Dioscorea	Dioscorea
Species	Dioscorea bulbifera	Dioscorea alata

Evolutionary Relationship

Air yam and Water yam share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Dioscorea.

Conservation Status

Air yam

NE — Not Evaluated

Water yam

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Air yam	Water yam
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Air yam

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (5 countries), Asia (4 countries), North America (13 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (9 countries), and South America (4 countries).

Water yam

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (16 countries), Asia (Maldives, Taiwan), Europe (United Kingdom), North America (13 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (4 countries), and South America (6 countries).

Air yam

The Air yam (Dioscorea bulbifera) is a species in the genus Dioscorea. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 22 countries:

🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda 🇧🇸 Bahamas 🇧🇿 Belize 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇹🇩 Chad 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇨🇺 Cuba 🇫🇯 Fiji 🇬🇳 Guinea 🇭🇹 Haiti 🇯🇲 Jamaica 🇲🇻 Maldives 🇫🇲 Micronesia 🇳🇮 Nicaragua 🇵🇦 Panama 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis 🇸🇨 Seychelles 🇸🇷 Suriname 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇹🇿 Tanzania 🇹🇴 Tonga 🇺🇸 United States