174-2 
anth 6-cleft and calyx-like ; s/amens 3 or 6, perigynous; filaments subulate: anthers 
globose, introrse, 2-celled. Femade flowers: pertanth tubular, 3-margined, 6-cleft, 
adherent to the ovary; ovary 3-celled; ovules anatropous, I to 2 in each cell; 
styles 3, segregate or nearly so; stigmas linear, spreading. /ruz¢ sometimes bac- 
cate, but usually a membranaceous, 3-angled or margined pod. Lmdéryo minute; 
albumen cartilaginous. 
No other species are used in medicine, but a few are worthy of mention here 
on account of their roots, which, when fresh, are juicy, irritant, and vesicating, but 
after prolonged boiling are rendered more or less pleasant, and always nutritious, 
from an abundance of starch. Of all the Yams yielded by this order, the pleas- 
antest is the East Indian Sweet Yam (Dvoscorea sativa, Linn.), next to which ranks 
the White Negro-Yam of India (D. alata, Linn.), which often reaches a weight of 
30 pounds, and the Prickly Yam (D. acudeata, Linn.), which is the most generally 
cultivated form, The Ceylon White Yam (D. dudbifera, Linn.); the Japanese Yam. 
(D. Faponica, Linn.) ; and the Indian Yam (LD. trifida, Linn.), are also pleasant and 
edible. The East Indian Buck Yam (LD. triphylla, Linn.), and the Tropical Devil’s 
Yam (2. demona) remain nauseous, even after prolonged boiling, yet are eaten 
by the natives in times of need. The Yam is largely cultivated for food in Africa, 
East and West Indies, and the Southern United States, especially for, and by, the 
negroes. The roots grow often to a large size, are farinaceous, and considered to 
be easily digested ; they are in general palatable, and are considered not inferior 
to any root at present in use. They are eaten in lieu of bread, boiled or baked, 
or dried and ground into flour for bread and puddings, 
The Cape Hottentots’ Bread (Lestudinaria elephantipes, Burch) is often, in 
times of scarcity, eaten in lieu of Yams, but is a poor substitute. The root of the 
European Black Bryony (Zamus communis, Linn.), is used as a stimulating poul- 
tice; internally it is an acrid purgative, an emetic and diuretic, yet the young 
shoots are used in lieu of asparagus; and the Candian (7. Gretica, Linn.), is very 
similar in its properties, . 
History and Habitat.—Dioscorea is indigenous to North America, where it 
ranges from Canada and New England, to Wisconsin and southward; it is common, 
however, only in the South, 
The root of Dioscorea Villosa, as it appears in commerce, is of two kinds, so 
obviously different that, for many years, one sort was thrown out by druggists as 
_ Spurious. This discrimination so affected the gathering of the roots that what was 
considered the true root could no longer be procured in sufficient quantity. 
Diggers finally, on their side, protested and claimed that the two roots came from 
almost: identical plants, and, in order to supply the trade, the wholesale druggists 
_ were compelled to accept, although under protest, the product as sent by the 
> gatherers, Mr. C. G. Lloyd finally examined carefully into what made the differ- 
_ €nce in the rhizoma, and his decision created a new variety of the species which © 
he called var. glabra. The differentiation is as follows :* | 
Mime Dios. Suppl., 82, plate vii. ee 
