Aerial-Tuberosa Chinese Mountain Yam

"Aerial-Tuberosa"   Selection Known for High Aerial Tuber Yields-Specifically Selected for Bulbils -A Great Perennial Vegetable

Selected seedling discovered at my farm found by comparing different selections of yams just for the bulbil production. Round pea size and larger tubers grow in clusters along the vines. Yields are the highest in terms of per square foot area of trellis and show remarkable density nearly twice that of other varieties I have grown. The vine itself seems smaller in stature but will reach easily 8 foot tall on a trellis. Picking the tubers is very easy but it is best to shake them on a tarp because they tend to fall off the vine during picking. "Aerial-Tuberosa" is a great perennial tuber crop for both in ground and aerial tubers.  

Today all of the selections in the United States have their origin from China. Many are from the ornamental trade where at one time it was called the Cinnamon vine. The flowers have a wonderful aroma. This particular selection came from a seed packet purchased from a seed company known for their successful international imports of many food plants hard to get. It was by testing all of these clonal selections that Aerial-Tuberosa was named. 

Highest yielding aerial tuber. Branched vines show excellent coverage on a trellis. Has to be grown on a 6 foot trellis minimum. Tubers can be hand picked and will stay attached in good condition through October after the foliage has died. There is a mixture of larger and smaller tubers on the same vine. The tubers can be steamed with vegetables and cook quickly. It was an employee favorite when we had a tuber cook off at the farm.

Aerial-Tuberosa is a female selection and cannot set seed as there are no male varieties available. The plants are infertile. The plants self sow by dropping the mini-tubers to the soil and rooting. Whitetail deer find these particularly attractive and this has diminished and removed by older existing plantings. Once the trellis is taken down, zero tubers are produced. It is not invasive and has never spread outside the planting areas even after my plantings were abandoned.  There has been zero natural recruitment in my surrounding forest or plantings after 30 years of growing it. 

Winter below minus 20F may damage some tubers. The plants need a trellis to harvest and grow the aerial tubers. If you decide to grow them as mature roots in ground, then using a woven 24 inch deep polybag works well or used punched plastic liner and burying it with 6 inches of mulch or topsoil and then grow the tubers on top of the liner.  This will allow you to extract the 18 inch long tubers in their entirety without damaging them. This is how the roots are grown in other countries. It is not an ornamental vine much anymore although many other species have filled in in this great genus of tropical annuals. 

Bulbils are refrigerated and can be planted as is. In a row on a trellis, plant 3-6 inches apart. Roots take two years to produce the aerial tubers and three years to really crank them out. In ground tubers can be harvested in one or two years depending on the size you desire. They don't seem to get woody with age.