Dioscorea floridana

Florida yam
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Dioscoreales
Family:	Dioscoreaceae
Genus:	Dioscorea
Species:	D. floridana
Binomial name
Dioscorea floridana Bartlett
Synonyms [1] [2]
Dioscorea villosa subsp. floridana(Bartlett) R. Knuth Dioscorea villosa var. floridana(Bartlett) H.E. Ahles

Dioscorea floridana, the Florida yam, is a plant species native to Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. It grows in wet and sandy places at low elevations. ^{[3] [4]}

Dioscorea floridana is a perennial vine twining over other vegetation and spreading by means of yellow underground rhizomes. Stems can reach a height of over 4 m off the ground. Leaves are egg-shaped to triangular, up to 12 cm long, not clasping the stem. Flowers are yellow-orange. ^{[3] [5] [6] [7] [8]} D. floridana flowers from June to November. ^[9]

Although not considered to be in any active danger, D. floridana's native range is so limited that it is of conservational interest. ^[10]

References

1. Tropicos
2. The Plant List
3. Flora of North America v 26 p 483, Dioscorea floridana
4. BONAP (Biota of North America Project) floristic synthesis, Dioscorea floridana
5. Bartlett, Harley Harris. 1910. U. S. department of agriculture. Bureau of plant industry. Bulletin. 189: 18.
6. Wunderlin, R. P. 1998. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida i–x, 1–806. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
7. Knuth, Reinhard Gustav Paul. 1924. Das Pflanzenreich IV, 43: 173.
8. Ahles, Harry E. 1964. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 80(2): 172.
9. Weakley, A.S. 2020. Flora of the Southeastern United States. Edition of 20 October 2020. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
10. "USDA Plants Database". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2025-08-27.