Wild Mexican Yam, Barbasco, Colic Root

^To the grower in TN, what you have is probably D. alata or D. bulbifera or something, no way its D. mexicana given that it freezes... ...Read Morer />
Faster growing than D. elephantipes, smaller max size. (And also a more flat/conically-tipped caudex) Unlike elephantipes, D. mexicana is easy to "force" into growth, if you have bottom heat and are watering regularly, it'll essentially be evergreen. Rot prone if temperatures drop and it stays wet, and rot spreads like wildfire. Don't water it during dormancy if you aren't keeping it fairly warm.

Extremely unique for the fact that if you bury or air-layer the vines of D. mexicana, they CAN form new baby caudexes at the nodes. Yes, seriously. If you plant the entire caudex under the soil, sometimes they will naturally form. Likewise as the mother caudex forms baby plants, over time the newer plants will force the original caudex lower and thus create even more babies. Dioscorea mexicana can absolutely be propagated by cuttings (well, air-layering) and are indistinguishable from seedlings. They also will grow larger faster while connected to a mother plant than seedlings grow. I have no idea why this species isn't available all the time... I used to work at a succulent nursery and we propagated D. mexicana by keeping a single mother plant buried at the bottom of a pot, so I've seen this process in action, cool stuff.

Otherwise this is kind of like the summer-growing sister to the winter-growing D. elephantipes. (Though I don't know if these two are actually closely related in the genus, they're found on different continents.)

I'm almost 100% sure what I have in my garden is Wild Mexican Yam, seeing as the leaves show veins growing down to the pointed tip - not ...Read Moreout to the sides. Still trying to figure it out but seeing as I live in Springfield, TN - I wonder why it's growing here, according to info that states it prefers warmer zones.

Book of AZTEC p.g.79
To married couples who did not want to make a child. A powder ground from the tlatlaohuehuetl, which is that ...Read Moretuber like a sweet potato, only a hundred times bigger; what you call in Spanish the barbasco. Any woman who daily takes a dose of the powdered barbasco runs no risk of conceiving an unwanted. Aztec Med. for weman.

This plant is a curious tuber that somewhat resembles a turtle's back, and is a popular plant for growing in warm coastal zones, or indoo...Read Morers in colder zones. It is a pretty reliable grower as long as it's not exposed to much frost, or long periods of cool wet weather (easily rots). In Mexico it tends to grow under the shade of other bushes, with the vining portion growing out into the full, hot sun. It is deciduous, losing it's vine when it gets cold, and making another 1-2 a year after that. The 'shell' of the turtle's back grows with each season as each vine production spot makes another 'square' in the overall shell.

Plant this plant very shallowly, if not right on top of the soil- a very well draining mix. Roots tend to grow laterally, not deep, so no point in putting in a deep pot, and that will only increase the chances of rot. It like to be kept a bit on the moist side when it's hot out, so not quite as drought tolerant as it might look (tuber will survive, but vine will die back). Vines can get realy long, and with older, larger plants, can even get heavy... need a large trellis or place of this plant to grow.