Dioscorea bulbifera: An Elixir of Life Part 1

Black Air Potatoes

White Air Potatoes

I am a pretty climber
That spreads all over the place
My elegant leaves
Have got a lot of grace

Known as ‘kaachil’ in some places
As D.bulbifera by some
To enjoy my health benefits
One and all come

I have flavonoids and terpenoids
Protein, starch and glycoside
On the way to better health
Let me be your guide

Diabetes patients who miss potato
Let me be a substitute
To this antidiabetic property
Diosgenin will contribute

I can be a reducing agent
Electrons I donate
I help in making nanoparticles
When the flasks rotate

I am healthy and nutritious
I am a complete food
Eating me regularly
Will make you feel good

This sweet child Rutuja
Has planted me in a pot
Pay attention to wild veggies
Please don’t let us rot.

– Rutuja Milind Gupte
(From my project for Dr Homi Bhabha Young Scientist Competition 2018-19; for which I won the Gold Medal.)

Today I want to share something about a plant species which is particularly close to my heart – Dioscorea bulbifera or air potatoes. It is also known as कारंद (karande) in Marathi or കാച്ചില് (kaachil) in Malayalam. As is customary since my 9th standard, I planted air potatoes in my garden this year as well. Air potatoes are wild plants that have edible tubers and bulbils. They aren’t commonly known by most people but have been subject to considerable amounts of research. As a result, they were the perfect topic for my action research project for Dr Homi Bhabha Young Scientist Competition.

My first introduction to this species was through Dr Sanjay Patil of BAIF. BAIF is an organisation working for farmers and the conservation of rare species. I have visited their centre in Jawhar in the Palghar district where I got the opportunity to seek the guidance of Dr Patil. He briefed and introduced me to a couple of wild vegetables and helped me pick the right one for my project. Since I was looking for wild vegetables quite late in the year (around December and January),  D. bulbifera was something he strongly recommended. The bulbils of this plant are available in the market from Navratri till they run out of stock.

My limited choices and their availability in decent amounts in my city made air potatoes the best choice for my project. As part of my project, I collected lots of information about them. I even performed its chemical analysis with the help of Dr Jyotsna Nijsure at Jhunjhunwala College. I will always be grateful for the amount of support she has given me for my project. 

As I delved deeper into this species, I started to see it in a new light. It was something quite different from what we are generally used to seeing. 

It is generally very easy to grow. Its bulbil or tuber can be sowed in the soil. It has a very good success rate. It can grow even from a small largely underdeveloped bulbil! Of course, planting a strong healthy bulbil will yield a sturdier sapling (however, a relatively weak looking sapling will also give a good healthy plant).

Once it starts to grow, this climber is a sight to see. One of the most surprising aspects for first-time growers is its growth rate. It grows by a few inches every day. You can even tell the difference between its length in the morning vs evening!

However, its astonishing growth rate isn’t its most amazing characteristic. It has extremely beautiful heart-shaped leaves. Every single leaf is an epitome of perfection. Seeing the perfect leaves all looking in one direction really makes my day.

If we are blessed with a consistent monsoon without long periods of harsh sunlight, this plant showers us with delicious bulbils. These bulbils generally get ready to eat by Navratri.

These bulbils are really healthy and delicious. Their nutritious value and some of the recipes I have tried are a story for another day. Due to the connection I have with this plant, it would be very hard for me to capture its full glory in one post. So, I will be back with some more interesting tidbits soon.

Hope you enjoyed reading! If you want to be notified when I post part 2, please subscribe below. Till then you can check out some of my previous posts. Happy reading! 

Edit: Part 2 is out now. You can check it out here.