Dioscorea pentaphylla

India (Bombay Presidency): leaves boiled and eaten. The tuber, which contains a toxic element, is dug from the ground. The rind is removed and the tuber is then cut into pieces and boiled. The pieces are then immersed or dipped in a running stream for one night. After leaching, it is again boiled – reportedy five or six times – and then eaten mixed with salt and spices. Other reports indicate the tuber is eaten after leaching overnight in a stream, but without further processing. An alternate process is recorded: the tuber is plunged into water for one night and one day, boiled five or six times, the rind removed, the tuber cut in half and then mixed with salt; (Deccan): leaves and flowers eaten; (Kumaon region, Western Himalayas): tubers cut into pieces, steeped in water, and boiled prior to eating; (Garhwal Himalayas): eaten after repeatedly being boiled, washed and baked. Hawaii: tuber steamed and eaten warm.