Skip to main content

Distributed for Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

World Checklist of Dioscoreales

Dioscoreales are a small but systematically and economically significant order of monocotyledons. The most diverse and important member is the yam genus, Dioscorea L., a source of dietary starch at macroeconomic to rural community levels. Other species of Dioscorea provided the chemical basis of corticosteroid drugs and oral contraceptives. Ally families comprise the unusual, largely achlorophyllous (heteromycotrophic) Burmanniaceae and the relatively unspecialised Nartheciaceae.

The World Checklist of Dioscoreales lists all validly published names of yams and their allies, providing the source of their publication and indication of which names are currently accepted and which are synonyms, making it a standard nomenclatural reference for further research into this important family.

84 pages

Biological Sciences: Botany


Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew image

View all books from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press