Dioscorea communis
Black Bryony · Black Bindweed
Also published as Tamus communis. You are in the right place.
About the plant
What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.
- Habit
- climbing tuberous geophytePlants of the World Online
- Flower
- Greenish-yellowWikipedia
- Native range
- Albania, Algeria, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Belgium and elsewhereGBIF Backbone Taxonomy
- Note
- Germination is hypogeal: the radicle first, and the leaf only later.Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed.
Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.
Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Wikipedia — Wikipedia contributors; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility; Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno.
Worth knowing
- Every part of black bryony, tubers included, is poisonous because of its saponins; only the young shoots, picked while their saponin content is low, are eaten as a vegetable. It has been used as a poultice for bruises, but it can cause painful blisters on the skin. Wikipedia: Dioscorea communis
Protocol
DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993Difficulty High
Warm moist stratification
Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C
Deno gives no length for this period; three months is his standard cycle.
Cold moist stratification
Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C
Two of nine came up here, in the 11th week. Deno gives no length for this period; three months is his standard cycle.
Warm moist stratification
Temperature: 70°F 21°C
Two more of nine, on the sixth day.
about 6 months from start to step 3. Germination happens during step 3; time not stated, 21 days assumed.
22% germination.
Two seeds of nine in the cold and two more after the move -- four of nine in all.
How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.
Germination trials
Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials
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