No, you don’t eat them. (Though they are in the yam family, they are toxic.)
They eat you.
Well, not really but they might smother you if you stood still long enough. Dioscorea bulbifera is known for its rapid growth: about 8 inches in a day. The vine can reach 70 feet in length. They may have heart-shaped leaves, but there is no love for them in Florida where they were first introduced in 1905. They originated in Africa. Now they are listed on the Florida invasive species list.
Our son had his own battle with air potato vine at a student rental house in Gainesville. There is a vine at Newport that has covered trees and buildings, similar to kudzu. So we cheered when we saw it has succumbed to the cold.
The light was all wrong, so please forgive the poor quality of the pictures.
No doubt it will recover and come back from the tubers. (sigh)
Such a nasty plant!
ReplyDeleteToxic Kudzu. This plant has nothing goin for it.
ReplyDelete