Commodities Affected:
Forestry and Natural Areas

 

Threat:

Chinese yam is a herbaceous, twining, perennial vine that often is found climbing. It invades open to shady areas in the eastern United States. Chinese yam can form dense masses of vines that cover and kill native vegetation including trees within a variety of moist, disturbed habitates. It was introduced from Asia for ornamental, food, and medicinal purposes and escaped cultivation in the mid 1900s. <www.invasive.org>

 

Distribution:

Chinese yam can be found in the following 20 Indiana counties: Clark, Clay, Crawford, Dearborn, Dubois, Fayette, Floyd, Harrison, Jennings, Lake, Lawrence, Monroe, Orange, Parke, Pike, Posey, Ripley, Sullivan, Switzerland, and Warrick.