Dioscorea balcanica

Dioscorea balcanica is a herbaceous perennial in the family Dioscoreaceae.

Dioscorea balcanica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Dioscoreales
Family:	Dioscoreaceae
Genus:	Dioscorea
Species:	D. balcanica
Binomial name
Dioscorea balcanica Košanin [1][2]

Description

Height 2–5 m. Flowers cup-shaped, arranged in racemes, producing loculicidal capsules.

Taxonomy

This species was named in 1914 by Nedeljko Kosanin (1874–1934), manager (1906–1934) of the Jevremovac botanical gardens in Belgrade, Serbia.[2]

Distribution

Balkans: Montenegro to North Albania (see map).[3] As such it is the only wild Dioscorea species found on the Balkan Peninsula where it is endemic. It is considered an endangered species and has been placed under protection.[4]

References

1. Tropicos 2016.
2. Košanin 1914.
3. eMonocot 2014.
4. Šavikin-Fodulović et al 1998.

Bibliography

• "Dioscorea balcanica Košanin". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden.
• "Dioscorea balcanica Košanin". eMonocot. 2014. Distribution maps
• Košanin, Nedelyko (1914). "Dioscorea balcanica". Österreichische Botanische Zeitschrift (in German). 64: 38–39.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Šavikin-Fodulović, Katarina; Grubišić, Dragoljub; Ćulafić, Ljubinka; Menković, Nebojša; Ristić, Mihailo (June 1998). "Diosgenin and phytosterols content in five callus lines of Dioscorea balcanica". Plant Science. 135 (1): 63–67. doi:10.1016/S0168-9452(98)00036-3.
• "Dioscorea balcanica". Hortipedia. Retrieved 3 February 2016.