Gadung (Dioscorea hispida)

Gadung (Dioscorea hispida) is a plant species in Dioscoreaceae, shrubs, trunks and climbing on hard-stemmed plants with convoluted direction always turning to the right from the root, 5-20 m long, producing tubers for chips, brownies, wine and others.

D. hispida has a stem of 0.5-1 cm, prickly or not, grayish green and white waxed. The stems have three leaves, 30x28 cm, the five main bones are arranged linearly, round in shape with a blunt base and pointed tip, green, rough surface, thin and limp like paper.

Male flowers are collected in bunches at the armpits of the stalks, branched, soft haired, yellow and fragrant. Compound female flowers are grain and are not branched. Yellow crown and six stamens. The fruit is elliptical, 1 cm in diameter and brown in color.

Bulbs are formed near the surface of the soil, are numerous, irregular in shape, cluster in bundles up to 25 cm wide, have root hair, yellow or light brown skin and white or yellow flesh.

Gadung has two varieties that are distinguished by the characteristics of the tuber. Dioscorea hispida var. punel has many tubers each bunch with an area of 7-15 cm to 15-25 cm, white and has a very strong fibers. Dioscorea hispida var. suntil has a larger, denser, white-gray tuber with yellow tuber flesh.

D. hispida easily grows in tropical forests with high rainfall, clay soils, red soils, black soils, sandy soils, flat places or hilly slopes. Minimum rainfall of 1000 mm/year with a dry season of no more than 2-4 months. Generally in lowlands up to an altitude of 1200 m, but can not grow with an average temperature below 20C.

Tubers are very poisonous which contain dioscorine and diosgenin which cause dizziness and spasms, but special processing methods allow tubers to be eaten. Raw bulbs are used as ingredients for animal poisons, insecticides and wound medicine.

Flowers have a fragrant scent for clothing fragrances and hair ornaments. Tubers contain high carbohydrates and a hectare of plants produce 40 tons of flour which has been used as an ingredient of bread, cake and brownies.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Dioscoreales
Family: Dioscoreaceae
Genus: Dioscorea
Species: Dioscorea hispida

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