Crops
Yam
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Yam is the common name for edible-tubered species in the genus Dioscorea, a starchy staple across tropical and temperate regions with over 95 percent of world production concentrated in Africa. Unlike most staple crops, yam was not domesticated once: three separate species were brought into cultivation independently on three different continents, white yam (Dioscorea rotundata) in Africa, water yam (Dioscorea alata) in Asia, and cush-cush yam (Dioscorea trifida) in South America, each its own domestication event rather than one crop spreading from a single origin.
Facts
Scientific NameDioscorea spp., principally D. rotundata, D. alata and D. trifida 1 Domestication RegionThree independent domestications: Africa (D. rotundata), Asia (D. alata), South America (D. trifida) 1 Open Questions
Domesticated When (Circa)Not dated in the available source 1 The source names three independent domestication events by continent but gives no dates for any of them; left unfixed rather than inventing a year. Sources
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