Description
Yam Sweet potatoes and yam, freshly pulled out of ground. Sweet potatoes and yam varieties come in many natural colors.Yams are monocots, related to lilies and grasses. Native to Africa and Asia, yams vary in size from that of a small potato to over 60 kilograms. There are over 600 varieties of yams and 95 percent of these crops are grown in Africa.
- Differences between yam and sweet potato
Compared to sweet potatoes, yams are starchier and drier. Yams are a monocot (a plant having one embryonic seed leaf) and from the Dioscoreaceae family. Sweet Potatoes, in parts of the world called ‘yams’, are a dicot (a plant having two embryonic seed leaves) and are from the Convolvulacea family. The table below lists some important differences between yam and sweet potato.
| Factor | Sweet Potato | Yam |
|---|---|---|
| Plant Family | Morningglory | Yam |
| Chromosomes | 2n=90 | 2n=20 |
| Flower | Monoecious | Dioecious |
| Origin | Tropical America (Peru, Ecuador) | West Africa, Asia |
| Edible part | Storage root | Tuber |
| Appearance | Smooth, with thin skin | Rough, scaly |
| Shape | Short, blocky, tapered ends | Long, cylindrical, some with "toes" |
| Mouth feel | Moist | Dry |
| Taste | Sweet | Starchy |
| Beta carotene | Usually high | Usually very low |
| Propagation | Transplants/vine cuttings | Tuber pieces |
Read more about this topic: Yam (vegetable)
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“A sound mind in a sound body, is a short, but full description of a happy state in this World: he that has these two, has little more to wish for; and he that wants either of them, will be little the better for anything else.”
—John Locke (1632–1704)
“I fancy it must be the quantity of animal food eaten by the English which renders their character insusceptible of civilisation. I suspect it is in their kitchens and not in their churches that their reformation must be worked, and that Missionaries of that description from [France] would avail more than those who should endeavor to tame them by precepts of religion or philosophy.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“It is possible—indeed possible even according to the old conception of logic—to give in advance a description of all ‘true’ logical propositions. Hence there can never be surprises in logic.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)