Mountain Yam     日本山藥     $3.85      10 Seeds 
Chinese mountain yam is one of the few tubers grown commercially in China and used extensively as a source of starch. Until recently this species was used only as an ornamental in the U.S, for the sweet smelling cinnamon like blossoms and rarely thought of as a delicious tuber. Not so much anymore where people are trying to find a perennial potato like substitute with less horticultural issues. Mountain yam also produces aerial tubers which grow along the vine as it grows up to 15 ft. tall or more. These tubers will reach up to 1/2 inch in size and can be picked and added to soups and stews. If the tubers are left on, they will drop to the ground and freeze to mush in the winter rarely spreading beyond the planting. The in ground tubers are best harvested in 1-2 years.