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Article: Wild yam for women's health: Nikki Solomon teaches about this heart-shaped healer.(herbal healing)
- Article from:
- New Life Journal
- Article date:
- October 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Natural Arts. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Living under a canopy of maple, oak, pine and tulip poplar trees, Dioscorea villosa gracefully twists and turns, reaching for the dappled sunlight at the forest's edge. The heart-shaped, pubescent leaves move in an alternate pattern on a viney stem, whorled at the base; the the woody and knobby rhizome is embedded in the soft, nourishing earth. Dioscorea villosa is also known as Wild Yam, Colic Root, Devil's Bones, China Root, Yuma, Hairy Yam and Rheumatism Root, and many of the 150 or so varieties found throughout the world are edible, like the potato. The rhizome has bitter, cool, oily, dry and astringent qualities.
Chinese herbalists value the plant for ...