Dioscorea villosa

Wild Yam

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Family: Dioscoreaceae (Yam family)

Mid-Atlantic bloom time: April - June
Mid-Atlantic fruit ripe: Septmber - November

Wild Yam is a somewhat common twining vine that can be found in moist forests and woodlands throughout much of our area. Its 6-part flowers are small, with petals ranging from 0.5-2 mm. Oddly for a monocot, its prominently-veined heart-shaped leaves usually are in a whorl of four at each node (but this varies). It forms 3-part light-beige seed capsules late in the season, with each capsule section containing light-to-dark brown flattened seeds that are wind dispersed.

Wild Yam's overall appearance is similar to the non-native Chinese Yam (Dioscorea polystachya), but Wild Yam has cordate-to-ovate shaped leaves (as opposed to Chinese Yam's halberd-shaped leaves), and it never forms aerial tubers.

Although there has been a convergence of taxonomic opinion that Wild Yam is a wide-ranging polymorphic species, no consensus has been drawn. Possible species splits include D. quaternata, D. hirsuticaulis, and D. floridana, while still recognizing D. villosa as its own species.

31 May 2015 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Landmark, VA (typical basal leaves of newly emerging plant)	26 April 2017 G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area, Linden, VA	26 April 2017 G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area, Linden, VA	17 April 2023 Conway Robinson State Forest, Gainesville, VA (flowers on young plant)
12 January 2026 Great Falls National Park, Great Falls, VA (dried seed capsule)	12 January 2026 Great Falls National Park, Great Falls, VA (seed capsules with flattened seeds)	12 January 2026 Great Falls National Park, Great Falls, VA (flattened seed)

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