Perennials - Air Potato
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  I am enclosing a piece of a vine and a big leaf. The vine has a small bulb on it that makes a big ball like substance. I have been told that it is called a potato vine. The person who gave it to me didn’t know what it was, so I was hoping you might know. It freezes out after the first frost, and you have to replant with one of the "potato" bulbs. Even with annual planting, it makes a tremendous vine in each season. Hope you can help.

  I have had numerous samples sent in this fall. The plant in question is commonly called an air potato. There are two species which are grown here, Dioscorea bulbifera, and Dioscorea batatas. The bulbifera species has larger heart shaped leaves and produces larger "air potatoes" than the batatas. The batatas variety has thinner leaves and small aerial tubers in the fall. Both should be treated as an annual with the tubers held for spring planting. There are edible and inedible varieties, so I would treat them as an ornamental and enjoy the vine each summer.

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