Dioscorea hastifoliaCommon name: Warrine

Meaning of name: Dioscorea is named after Pedianos Dioscorides, a Greek physician if the 1st century A.D. Hastifolia is frim the Latin words hasta, meaning spear, and folium, meaning leaf.

Aboriginal name: Warrine.

Aboriginal use: The tubers of Dioscorea hastifolia were eaten like potatoes.

Distribution: Occurs from Shark Bay south to Perth.

Description: A scrambling or climbing shrub with stems up to 2 metres long. The yellow flowers are produced in a spike between May and July.

References: Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings, a Glossary. FA Sharr. 1996.

Flora of the Perth Region. NG Marchant, JR Wheeler, BL Rye, EM Bennett, NS Lander, TD Macfarlane. 1987.

Bush Tucker Plants of the South-West. B Daw, T Walley, G Keighery. 1997.