Biology:Dioscorea balcanica

Short description: Species of herbaceous vine

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

Dioscorea balcanica is a herbaceous perennial in the family Dioscoreaceae.

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.

Distribution

Balkans: Montenegro to North Albania (see map). 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.

Bibliography

• "Dioscorea balcanica Košanin". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. http://tropicos.org/Name/100181290. 
• "Dioscorea balcanica Košanin". 2014. http://e-monocot.org/taxon/urn:kew.org:wcs:taxon:239821.  Distribution maps
• Košanin, Nedelyko (1914). "Dioscorea balcanica" (in german). Österreichische Botanische Zeitschrift 64: 38–39. doi:10.1007/BF01644279. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9867094#page/47/mode/1up. 
• 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". http://en.hortipedia.com/wiki/Dioscorea_balcanica. 

Wikidata ☰ Q15601276 entry