When visiting a church in North Georgia, I happened to notice a dried vine on a fence that had tiny 'potatoes' growing all over it (not just at the base of the stem). I did not have my camera and the specimen I pocketed has been misplaced. I have little expectation of anyone recognizing and identifying this vine but I am obsessed with these tiny potatoes. There were a few dried leaves that looked more like morning glory than like wild potato. The tubers were oval and about 2.5 cm long. The flesh inside was white and solid, looked less dense than potato but starchy nontheless. I say tuber rather than fruit because there were no seeds or chambers in the thing. A woman at the church remembers the flowers being white. The branches of the vine were thin and rather fragile. Forgive me for asking for help with so little information. Thank you in advance for your time.
Wow, that was a quick response. Thank you. The description sounds right but the pictures don't fit. The 'potatoes' I saw were not warty and they were golden brown not reddish. The leaves were definitely smaller. On checking other websites however I found that these tubers are quite variable and could very well describe what I have. Thanks Daniel.
Dioscorea oppositifolia(batatas) might be more likely as it's a temperate species. http://public.fotki.com/plumo/dioscorea/4_90.html
Yes, by George I think you've got it! This picture is exactly what my bulbils looked like. I thought the batatas were all sweet potatoes (yams) so I skipped over them in my search. Thank you. Has anyone ever eaten one of these gems?
