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Dioscorea bulbifera
Air-potato
Air Yam
Not native to Florida
This plant is an invasive exotic that is altering native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures or ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives.
This species should never be planted (many with this designation are prohibited by law), and generally should be removed whenever possible.
This invasive vine is frequent in disturbed hammocks and thickets throughout much of peninsular Florida, the central panhandle, plus Nassau, Duval and Escambia Counties. Can also be found in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Puerto Rico and Hawaii.
The large, strongly veined, cordate leaves are distinctive year-round, as are the large hanging namesake fruit when present. In Florida, the plant rarely flowers.
In 2012 air potato leaf beetles were introduced as a biological control to help fight air potato vines.
Dioscorea bulbifera is a member of the Dioscoreaceae - Yam family.
Other species of the Dioscorea genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Dioscorea floridana - FLORIDA YAM
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Jan 16, 2020
