05-12-2004, 02:02 PM
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In article , (Iris Cohen) wrote:
If someone is offering something for sale called a yam, be sure it is Dioscorea
batatas. There are some varieties of Ipomoea batatas, the sweet potato, which
are sold as yams. Both species are edible, but they probably taste different.
Your so-called purple yam is probably a sweet potato. Be assured it is edible.
The purple color is simply anthocyanin, like the color in purple cabbage. It
will probably dissolve in the water or turn color if you cook it. In this
country there is a big, sweet, orange-fleshed sweet potato which is often sold
as a yam.
Thanks for your response, Iris.
Yeah, my yam is certainly _Dioscorea_ sp. I presume _D. batatas_, but
I haven't really checked it out seriously, and web pages seem to be up
to their usual conflicting advice. :-) For example, for this species
we find:
From: http://www.bihrmann.com/caudiciforms/subs/dio-bat-sub.asp
It [_D. batatas_] can stand frost down to -18 C.
From:
http://www.clematis.com.pl/wms/wmsg.php/321.html&plant_number=165
It’s not fully hardy, hence before winter it’s advisable to cover an
area of about 100cm in diameter around the plant with e.g. bark mulch
thus creating an isolation layer that will help protect the roots.
From: http://florawww.eeb.uconn.edu/acc_num/198700196.html
USDA Zone: 5
Mind you, this conflict could be my problem, not reality! 8-)
To a tropical lad, -18C is *bloody* cold for horticulture, so that
"not fully hardy" in the second ref sounds like a bunch of
codswallops! (And, come to that, I don't know what "USDA Zone 5"
means in that .edu ref. Presumably it confirms or refutes one of the
others, if not both? 
[ Later: Hmm... Okay. Before Celluloid had a coronary over my
laissez faire I thought I'd better do a google... It seems those refs
may be pretty consistent after all. USDA Zone 5 (5a and 5b) are
*very* bloody cold for tropical lads!
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hzm-ne1.html
So what the hell do you call "fully hardy"? Sounds like hell has
already frozen over to me. :-) ]
Cheers, Phred.
--
LID
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