# air potato (*Dioscorea bulbifera*)

Air potatoes are unique plants that grow in warm places. They have round, potato-like bulbs that can be found above the ground, making them special and fun to discover!

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 2/5 · Low
- **Habitat:** Urban areas

![air potato](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Starr-090623-1534-Dioscorea_bulbifera-bulbs_and_leaves-Nahiku-Maui_%2824966795025%29.jpg&width=800)

Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starr-090623-1534-Dioscorea_bulbifera-bulbs_and_leaves-Nahiku-Maui_%2824966795025%29.jpg)

## Appearance

The air potato is a fast-growing vine with large, heart-shaped leaves. It produces distinctive, rough, greenish-brown, potato-like growths called bulbils directly on its stems. Its small flowers are often overlooked.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Liliopsida
- **Order:** Dioscoreales
- **Family:** Dioscoreaceae
- **Genus:** Dioscorea

## Interesting facts

- Invasive air potato vines can grow over 20 feet in a single season! Wow!
- Its scientific name, Dioscorea, honors an ancient Greek botanist and physician.
- One mature air potato vine can produce hundreds of new "baby" bulbils each year!
- Some air potato varieties can be peeled, boiled, and eaten like regular potatoes!

## Special abilities

- **Bulbil Blaster:** The air potato can grow 'baby potatoes' (bulbils) on its vine that drop off, sprouting new plants super fast!
- **Climbing Conqueror:** Air potato has strong twining stems that help it rapidly climb up trees and structures, reaching for sunlight.
- **Regrowth Reactor:** This plant can sprout new vines from fallen bulbils or root pieces, making it very hard to get rid of!

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 300-2000 cm
- **Spread:** 200-1000 cm
- **Flower Size:** 0.3-0.6 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Late summer to fall
- **Edible:** Yes
- **Toxicity:** Moderate
- **Lifecycle:** Perennial
- **Pollination Method:** Insect

## Ecological connections

- **Eats:** [Air Potato Leaf Beetle](https://www.snappit.app/explore/air-potato-leaf-beetle) (*Lilioceris cheni*) — This beetle munches on air potato leaves, helping to control its spread.
- **Pollinates:** European Honey Bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Honey bees visit its small flowers, helping the plant reproduce.
- **Parasitizes:** Fungus (*Colletotrichum gloeosporioides*) — This fungus can cause leaf spots and blight, weakening the plant.

## Traits

- [Climbing/Vine](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/climbing-vine): Climbing or vine plants are characterized by a growth habit that allows them to ascend upwards by twining, tendrils, or adhesive roots.
- [Flowering](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/flowering): Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.
- [Fruit Bearing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/fruit-bearing): Fruit-bearing plants produce fruits, which are the mature ovaries of flowering plants containing seeds.
- [Edible](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/edible): Edible plants are those parts of a plant that are considered safe for human consumption.
- [Rapid Growing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/rapid-growing): Rapid growing plants exhibit accelerated growth rates, quickly increasing in size and biomass within a short period.
- [Urban Friendly](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/urban-friendly): This habitat trait indicates species that can coexist with humans in urban and suburban environments, utilizing man-made structures and green spaces.
- [Invasive](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/invasive): Invasive species are non-native organisms that cause harm to the environment, economy, or human health.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 2/5 · Low

Do not eat any part of the plant without asking an adult first.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify air potato?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is air potato?

300-2000 cm

### How wide does air potato spread?

200-1000 cm

### How big are the flowers on air potato?

0.3-0.6 cm

### When does air potato bloom?

Late summer to fall

### Is air potato edible?

Yes

### Is air potato toxic?

Moderate

### What is air potato's lifecycle?

Perennial

## Where to spot

- [Sandsprit Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/sandsprit-park) — Florida, US · Park

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Air Potato: Characteristics, Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/air-potato)