Skip to main content

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.

Dlium Gadung (Dioscorea hispida)

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

Popular Posts

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Sweetpotato bug (Physomerus grossipes)

Kutu ketela or sweetpotato bug ( Physomerus grossipes ) is an insect species in Coreidae, brown with black legs, adults growing about 2 cm long, oval shaped, segmented antennas, heavily veined membranes, metathoracic odor glands and enlarged rear tibia. P. grossipes generally live in Leguminosae and Convolvulaceae especially sweet potato ( Physomerus grossipes ), pink morning glory ( Ipomoea carnea ), purple beans ( Vigna unguiculata ), Asian pigeonwings ( Clitoria ternatea ) and common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ). Sweetpotato bugs suck liquid from the stem which causes plants to wither and disrupt fruit production. P. grossipes places eggs at the bottom of the leaves or stems or grass around them. Females are very protective of their children, keeping eggs and nymphs from predators as the most famous example of maternal care in Coreidae. Even so, about 20% of eggs are eaten by predators such as ants and 13% are lost by parasitoid predation by chalcid wasps which lay eggs in egg...

Yellow potter wasp (Delta campaniforme)

Yellow potter wasp ( Delta campaniforme ) is a species of animal in Vespidae, solitary wasp, shiny yellow, shiny black, dull black and brown with a yellow striped belly, a long and narrow waist, a nest built using mud and a circle attached to a cliff. D. campaniforme has a black head with a yellow plot in the center and two transverse plots on the right and left. A pair of black eyes. A pair of antennas, long, yellow with a black base and tip. The back is yellow and black. A large black plot semicircle at the top of the front. The two plots form a circular line at the top of the back. A pair of wings is brownish black and transparent. The stomach has the shape of a water droplet, pointed tip, black with yellow and black segments, alternating to form stripes. Linear folds on the sides. The underside of the front is brown and large. The middle section has alternating yellow and black segments that form stripes. The stomach and back are connected by a long, narrow, downward curved pipe...