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December 2, 2008 : Dioscorea elephantipes
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Plant Family / Families: Dioscoreaceae
Scientific Name and Author: Dioscorea elephantipes (L'Hér.) Engl.
Institution: Sherman Library & Gardens
Name Location: Corona del Mar, California, USA
Ruth is both today's writer and photographer:
So, which is the plant and which is the rock? Luckily for us, this Dioscorea elephantipes, or elephant's foot, hasn't gone deciduous for the summer. The juicy, thick, heart-shaped leaves are born along the single vine-like branch pushing up through the center of the caudex. The caudex resembles a turtle shell in my opinion, leading to another common name: turtle back. I took this picture at Sherman Library and Gardens in Newport Beach, CA. If you ever have a chance to visit this garden, please do! It's a beautiful little place. The cactus and succulent garden is incredible in its species diversity, specimen quality, and design (not to mention the hand-harvested boulders and minerals).
This Dioscorea is native to Africa, specifically the Clanwilliam District of the West Cape and the Graaf-Reinet, Willowmore and Uniondale Districts of the Eastern Cape. The part of the plant that looks like a turtle shell is called a caudex (hence, it is a caudiciform plant). This massive storage unit (reportedly reaching 3m tall!) helps the elephant's foot to survive extreme temperatures from -4°C to 40°C and a wide variety of habitats, including arid rocky outcrops.
For more on Dioscorea elephantipes, including details about its ecology and uses, see the PlantzAfrica profile on Dioscorea elephantipes (and if you'd really like a challenge, spot the botanical terminology error in the fact sheet).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at December 2, 2008 9:59 AM
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Comments
Posted by: Alphonso Backter at December 2, 2008 11:52 AM
Here's what I believe is incorrect:
"The plants are monoecious, that means the flowering sexes are found on separate plants."
Instead, monoecious means that the reproductive organs are on the same plant. The incorrect definition refers to dioecious.
Posted by: deodasher at December 2, 2008 12:00 PM
Really wild!!
Posted by: Elizabeth at December 2, 2008 12:32 PM
Cool, can it walk?
Posted by: CherriesWalks at December 2, 2008 12:33 PM
Another WOW plant from BPotD!. How big is this specimen? Any idea how old it might be??
Posted by: Bob Wilson at December 2, 2008 12:39 PM
I absolutely love this site. While I got an A in Plant Taxonomy (Munz, California Flowering Plants) 40+ years ago, I am now an artist, and just love the pictures as well as the language of the scientific commentary on the plants. What wild descriptive language. What beauty. What insight in to nature. And daily. You are great.
Posted by: Carolyn Liesy at December 2, 2008 3:23 PM
Hard to believe this is in the yam group! Another Genus (Testudinaria) was or is used for it. The U. of Maryland mascot is 'Testudo' the terripin.
Posted by: Dennis Abdalla at December 2, 2008 3:32 PM
Not Dioecious,
Dioscera after the ancient greek Dioscorius I think there are also new world representative/relatives
AY.
Posted by: Amir Yarow at December 2, 2008 5:16 PM
plant the above and it will
walk right of the pot at night
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at December 2, 2008 5:21 PM
Wow! What a wonderful exotic plant. A google image search will yield lots more photos showing the whole plant with foliage.
Posted by: Mary Ann, in Toronto at December 2, 2008 9:04 PM
Wow. What a plant, and what a picture. Such great depth of field and color balance in what looks to be a rather difficult overexposure-inviting terrain. I take it that the male and female flowers really are on different plants... Is this one in the "deciduous" stage with only the stipule-like gadgets on the stems where the leaves have been?
The term that's left me puzzled is "karroid" -- MW Unabridged doesn't know either, and a search on "karroid definition" wasn't much help. From what little useful context I found I gather it's a shrub complex somewhat like our California chaparral? Anyone have a picture of Karroid (one's tempted to speculate that it's the Terran hangout of the Witches of Karres)?
m
Posted by: Equisetum 
at December 2, 2008 10:19 PM
cordex is mispelling for caudex, surely?
Posted by: Allan Hall at December 3, 2008 12:07 AM
Thank you Ruth, really interesting.
Posted by: Sheila at December 3, 2008 2:10 AM
"The term that's left me puzzled is "karroid" -- MW Unabridged doesn't know either, and a search on "karroid definition" wasn't much help"
Means a plant native to the Karroo, a range of hills in southernmost South Africa.
Posted by: Michael F at December 3, 2008 11:24 AM
Thanks, Michael! I think I'll go look up the Karroo and see what makes its plant complex so special--
Posted by: Equisetum at December 6, 2008 5:59 PM
The image is not of a dioscorea elephantipes, but of the Mexican species d. mexicana (syn d. macrostachya). The prominent thorny bracts are not present in elephantipes and elephantipes stems are branchier.
Posted by: kipp at February 9, 2009 1:55 PM
It is really delicious too.
Posted by: Vikram at October 19, 2009 10:55 AM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Dioecious, not monoecious