Dioscorea villosa is a species of twining tuberous vine which is native to eastern North America. It is commonly known as wild yam, colic root, rheumatism root, devil's bones, and fourleaf yam.^[2] It is common and widespread in a range stretching from Texas and Florida north to Minnesota, Ontario and Massachusetts.^{[1][3][4][5][6]}

Quick Facts Dioscorea villosa, Scientific classification ...

Dioscorea villosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Dioscoreales
Family:	Dioscoreaceae
Genus:	Dioscorea
Species:	D. villosa
Binomial name
Dioscorea villosa L.
Synonyms[1]
Merione villosa (L.) Salisb. Dioscorea sativa L. Dioscorea quaternata Walter Dioscorea quinata Walter Dioscorea cliffortiana Lam. Dioscorea paniculata Michx. Dioscorea waltheri Desf. Dioscorea glauca Muhl. ex L.C.Beck Dioscorea hexaphylla Raf. Dioscorea longifolia Raf. Dioscorea megaptera Raf. Dioscorea repanda Raf. Dioscorea pruinosa Kunth Dioscorea hirticaulis Bartlett Dioscorea lloydiana E.H.L.Krause

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Dioscorea villosa flower petal color is commonly known to be green to brown, or white. Lengths of the flower petals range from 0.5 to 2 mm (1⁄32 to 3⁄32 in). The flowers tend to grow out of the axil; this is the point at which a branch or leaf attaches to the main stem. There is only one flower present on the inflorescence.^{[verification needed]} The fruit of the plant is a capsule that splits and releases the seeds within to then begin the dispersal process^[7] The fruit of Dioscorea villosa ranges in size from 10–30 mm (3⁄8–1+3⁄16 in).^[8] The flower does not produce aerial bulblets.

Synonyms of Dioscorea villosa include Dioscorea hirticaulis and Dioscorea villosa var. hirticaulis. Common names of Dioscorea villosa include wild yam, Atlantic yam, common wild yam, wild yam-root, yellow yam, colic root, and rheumatism root.^[9][10][11]

Dioscorea villosa contains diosgenin, which despite claims is not a phytoestrogen and does not interact with estrogen receptors.^[12] Other steroidal saponins are also found in the plant.^{[citation needed]}

Some of the English common names of this plant reflect its use in Native American and other traditional medicines.^[13] In traditional Russian herbal medicine, saponin extracts from the roots of various varieties of wild yam are thought to be an anticoagulant, antisclerotic, antispasmodic, cholagogue, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic and a vasodilator.^[14]

There is little modern clinical research on Dioscorea villosa, and the one study of a wild yam-containing cream for menopausal symptoms failed to find any value from this therapy.^[15] According to the American Cancer Society, there is no evidence to support wild yam or diosgenin being either safe or effective in humans.^[16]