  
 
Dioscorea is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Dioscoreaceae, native throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. The vast majority of the species are tropical, with only a few species extending into temperate climates. It is named after the ancient Greek physician and botanist Pedanios Dioscorides. Mostly they are tuberous herbaceous perennial climbers, growing 2 to 12m in height. The leaves are spirally arranged, mostly broad heart-shaped. The flowers are individually inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, with six petals; they are mostly dioecious, with separate male and female plants, though a few species are monoecious, with male and female flowers on the same plant. The fruit is a capsule in most species, a soft berry in a few species.   
  Several species, known as yams, are important agricultural crops in tropical regions, grown for their large tubers. Many of these are toxic when fresh, but can be detoxified and eaten, and are particularly important in parts of Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Caudiciform species include Dioscorea elephantipes, Dioscorea dregeana, Dioscorea hemicrypta, Dioscorea macrostachya, Dioscorea mexicana, Dioscorea rupicola, Dioscorea sansibarensis and Dioscorea sylvatica. One class of toxins found in many species, including Dioscorea sylvatica, is steroidal saponins, which can be converted through a series of chemical reactions into steroid hormones for use in medicine and as contraceptives. They do very well in pots and rockeries.
Dioscorea elephantipes is one of the most beautiful, weird and wonderful, caudiciform plants around! This Indigenous plant has a deeply fissured surface, resembling an elephant's foot, hence its common name. It makes a most interesting container plant. The beauty of Dioscorea elephantipes lies in its beautiful above-ground caudex. In some cases these caudexes can grow as much as 3 m in height. The plant appears to have a wide tolerance of growing habitats, growing in weathered rock, on dry, stony slopes, under the protection of karroid bushes. The plant's caudex (short, thick stem) can reach heights of 3 m in ideal conditions. Dioscorea elephantipes will live for approx. 70 years in cultivation, if it is looked after. Remember it drops its leaves in late November. Do not over-water during the summer months, as this will shorten its life span by at least half. Dioscorea elephantipes needs a rest period. In its natural environment it rests during the hot dry summer. Dioscorea elephantipes grows in the winter and the spring months. 
   
  
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