'Chinese yam' definitions:
Definition of 'Chinese yam'
From: WordNet
noun
Hardy Chinese vine naturalized in United States and cultivated as an ornamental climber for its glossy heart- shaped cinnamon-scented leaves and in the tropics for its edible tubers [syn: cinnamon vine, Chinese yam, Dioscorea batata]
Definition of 'Chinese yam'
From: GCIDE
- Yam \Yam\ (y[a^]m), n. [Pg. inhame, probably from some native name.]
- 1. (Bot.) A large, esculent, farinaceous tuber of various climbing plants of the genus Dioscorea; also, the plants themselves. Mostly natives of warm climates. The plants have netted-veined, petioled leaves, and pods with three broad wings. The commonest species is Dioscorea sativa, but several others are cultivated. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Bot.) Any one of several cultural varieties of the sweet potato. [U. S.] [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
- Chinese yam, a plant (Dioscorea Batatas) with a long and slender tuber, hardier than most of the other species.
- Wild yam. (a) A common plant (Dioscorea villosa) of the Eastern United States, having a hard and knotty rootstock. (b) An orchidaceous plant (Gastrodia sesamoides) of Australia and Tasmania. [1913 Webster]