When walking with Orang Asli people from the Jahai tribe in the forests near the Royal Belum State Park in Perak, Malaysia, they showed me their traditional favorite staple food source: wild yam tubers. These tubers can be eaten without any detoxification. Their only drawback is that they are long and slender and grow deep in the soil. It is therefore a laborious task to extract them, and often only pieces of tubers can be retrieved.
Which species of wild yam did we harvest?
Siti Nursyadiq Anuar researched the use of wild tubers among the Bateq people, who, like the Jahai people, belong to the Semang division of the Orang Asli. She found that they use the following species:
- 1. Ubi Takop (Dioscorea orbiculata)
- 2. Ubi Rem (Dioscorea prainiana)
- 3. Ubi Gadong (Dioscorea hispida)
- 4. Ubi Kebark (Dioscorea sp.)
- 5. Ubi Pasir (Dioscorea alata)
- 6. Ubi Woh (Dioscorea sp.)
- 7. Ubi Hakay (Amorphophallus campanulatus)
- 8. Ubi Kasu’ (Dioscorea sp.)
- 9. Ubi Hau (Dioscorea sp.)
- 10. Ubi Ciyak / Ubi Tuba (Dioscorea esculenta)
- 11. Ubi Tampak (Gnetum tenuifolium)
- 12. Ubi Cengul (Dioscorea pyrifolia)
- 13. Ubi Carga’ (Dioscorea sp.)
When comparing the characteristics of all these tubers with the wild yam tuber our Orang Asli guide dug from underground, it was clear that it belonged to the Dioscorea orbiculata species.
Besides the tuber’s appearance, the stem conforms to its botanical description. Unfortunately, I was unable to take a picture of the leaves, as our Jahai guide had removed them before showing me the right-twining stem. Bateq people call this species Ubi Takop. If the Jahai people also call the tuber by the same name, it is currently unknown to me.
Key characteristics of this yam species.
Dioscorea orbiculata is found in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, typically growing in lowlands away from streams. The biggest likelihood to find them is around trees, which they can use for climbing. It is the only Asian yam species with right-twining stems, opposite leaves, and stellate or dendroid hairs. Its stems measure 7–10 mm (0.27–0.39 in) in diameter towards the base and between 1.5 and 6 mm (0.06–0.24 in) in diameter on the upper stems, which is quite thin. The vine grows to a height of 10 meters, with a stem that turns to the right.
The leaves are simple and 5–7-nerved, where only the main and first vein pair reach the apex. The long, thin tubers are deeply buried and spread on long stalks. They arise from a woody knot at the base of the stem. Their starchy, white interior is edible and has a sweet and pleasant flavor.
How to harvest wild yam tubers?
Once the vine has been found on a tree, it is followed to the ground, where it ends. And there starts the work. Some Ornag Asli tribes use a narrow metal shovel on a 2-meter-long handle for digging. Our Jahai used a wooden, pointed digging stick, and it took about 15 minutes to reach the tubers deep down in the soil.
The tubers were a whole arm’s length deep buried in the ground.
The longest piece of wild yam tuber retrieved was about 10 cm or 4’’ long, and there were about six smaller pieces.
Preparing wild yam tubers for eating
The yam tuber pieces will be washed, and the stiff hairs on the outside will be removed. Then, they will be roasted on an open fire. Before eating, the burned skin will be scraped off
Prepared this simple way, the roasted wild yam tubers smell pleasant and taste very similar to potatoes. Only the texture is different, which reminds one more of sweet potatoes. All in all, these roasted tubers are a real treat, making someone forget the work involved in harvesting them from the wild.
Lessons learned about wild yam in Perak’s forests:
- The wild yam species we found was Dioscorea orbiculata.
- Locating the tubers can be done by following the stem.
- This yam species has long and slim tubers, which grow deep down in the ground.
- After roasting, the yam tubers smell pleasantly and taste like potatoes.
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