Chinese yam vs Water yam

Dioscorea esculenta compared with Dioscorea alata

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chinese 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 esculenta	Dioscorea alata

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Chinese yam

NE — Not Evaluated

Water yam

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chinese yam

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Burkina Faso, Colombia, and Seychelles.

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).

Chinese yam

The Chinese Yam (Dioscorea esculenta) is a species in the genus Dioscorea. Distributed across Burkina Faso, Colombia, and Seychelles.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇸🇨 Seychelles