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Kanta alu

Local Name	:	Kanta alu
Botanical Name	:	Dioscorea dumetorum (Kunth) Pax
Common Name	:	Bitter yam
Family	:	Dioscoreaceae
Distribution	:	It is primarily distributed across tropical regions of Africa. In India, it is found in tropical and subtropical areas, particularly in the northeastern states and parts of southern India. In Odisha, it grows in forested areas.
Habit	:	Climber
Short Description	:	It is a perennial climbing vine with trifoliate leaves and irregularly shaped, bitter-tasting tubers.

Descriptions

It is a climbing vine with slender, twining stems. It produces trifoliate, heart-shaped leaves with pointed tips, arranged alternately along the stems. The plant bears small, greenish-yellow flowers, typically in axillary clusters. Fruits are slightly velvet and winged, 3-12 in number. Tubers are spheroid, consisting of 3 spheroid-shaped tubers, whitish with many fibrous roots, sometimes tubers are a cluster of 3-5.

Flowering & Fruiting Period

July - November

Use(s)

Its tubers are also believed to have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects.