| Dioscorea sylvatica Eckl. |
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| Family : DIOSCOREACEAE |
| Protologue : S. African Quart. J. 1: 363 (1830); Britten, J. Bot. 46: 200 (1908) |
| Information on the genus : Dioscorea |
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Status
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| Status for SA : | accepted (present) |
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| Status for TA : | accepted (present) |
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| Synonym(s) Homotypic |
 Dioscorea sylvatica Eckl. var. sylvatica |
| Testudinaria sylvatica (Eckl.) Kunth (1850) |
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| Synonym(s) Heterotypic |
| =Dioscorea junodii Burtt Davy (1924) |
| =Dioscorea hederifolia Griseb. |
| =Dioscorea montana (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Spreng. |
| =Dioscorea montana var. duemmeri R. Knuth |
| =Dioscorea montana var. sagittata Suess. |
| =Tamus sylvestris Kunth |
| =Testudinaria glaucescens Hügel |
| =Testudinaria rehmannii (Baker) G. D. Rowley |
| =Testudinaria sylvestris Kunth |
| =Dioscorea montana Eckl. & Zeyh. ex R. Knuth non Burch. & Spreng. |
| =Dioscorea montana var. glauca R. Knuth |
| =Dioscorea montana var. lobata Weim. |
| =*Testudinaria montana Eckl. & Zeyh. |
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| Taxon infra-specific |
| Dioscorea sylvatica var. brevipes (Burtt Davy) Burkill |
| Dioscorea sylvatica var. multiflora (Marloth) Burkill |
| Dioscorea sylvatica var. paniculata (Dummer) Burkill |
| Dioscorea sylvatica var. rehmannii (Baker) Burkill |
| Dioscorea sylvatica Eckl. var. sylvatica |
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| Ecology and distribution |
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| Biology : |
Vine, left-twining, unarmed, glabrous, to > 4 m long, stems (1 to many) annual from a perennial solitary subterranean tuber to 30 cm Ø, entire to deeply lobed, irregularly ovoid; surface of tuber corky, rough, cracked, sometimes reticulate; stems without bulbils; leaves alternate, entire to 3-lobed, heart-shaped to deltoid; apex triangular, 1-2 mm long; inflorescences racemose; male simple, flowers solitary on pedicels or sometimes in cymose pairs; female to 10 cm long; tepals 1,9-3,2 mm long, spreading; capsule 1,6-2,8x1-2 cm; seeds winged at apex, occasionally with a very narrow basal wing. |
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| Ecology : |
Often in rocky places, kopjes, in Brachystegia or mopane woodland; sandy soils; termite mounds; disturbed habitats; 0-1800 m alt. – Tolerant of heavy metal-rich soils in Zimbabwe (Great Dyke). |
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Very near D. elephantipes (L’Hér.) Engl. in S. Africa, belonging to a distinctive group of Dioscorea described as a genus, Testudinaria; they have subterranean to exposed perennial tubers with thick corky surface and seeds with apical wings. |
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Variable species with many varieties described. |
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J. Bot. 46: 200 (1908). 
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| More info on : |
| see under Jstor_African Plant Initiative |
| see under The International Plant Name Index |
| see under Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden |
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| Map |
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| Record n°174994 modified 2009-02-03 |
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