''Dioscorea hispida'', also known as the Indian three-leaved yam, (Tagalog: nami) is a species of yam in the genus ''

Dioscorea ''Dioscorea'' is a genus of over 600 species of flowering plants in the family Dioscoreaceae, native throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. The vast majority of the species are tropical, with only a few species extending ...

'', native to South and Southeast Asia. Known to be poisonous when fresh, careful processing is required to render it edible.

Culinary use

Several peoples use the tuber as food. The tuber is toxic when fresh due to the presence of

saponins Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...

and

calcium oxalate Calcium oxalate (in archaic terminology, oxalate of lime) is a calcium salt of oxalic acid with the chemical formula . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' varies from 1 to 3. Anhydrous and all hydrated forms are colorless or white. The monohydrate ...

raphides Raphides (pronounced /ˈræfɪˌdiz/, singular raphide /ˈreɪfʌɪd/ or raphis) are needle-shaped crystals of calcium oxalate monohydrate ( prismatic monoclinic crystals) or calcium carbonate as aragonite ( dipyramidal orthorhombic crystals), ...

, so it must be processed prior to consumption, typically by finely slicing into thin strips, placing in a sack or net, and leaving in a stream for a few days until the toxins have leached out. It is then dehydrated and cooked.

References

hispida {{monocot-stub