African (white) yam (Dioscorea rotundata), pictured on previous page, also Guinea yam, ñame guineo, white guinea yam, and Ghana yam, is quite similar to water yam, but more solid and stolid (and its flesh may be white or yellow). “Although other yam species have been introduced in Africa, in West Africa, the word ‘yam’ is almost synonymous with Dioscorea rotundata” and the closely related Dioscorea cayenensis, Franklin Martin explains. “The two species have apparently hybridized frequently, and intermediate forms impede exact classification.” He notes that the most important use is as fufu, a dish of African origin that also spread throughout the Caribbean. To prepare it, the chunked tubers are boiled soft, drained, “then pounded in a mortar with pestle until a stiff, glutinous dough is formed. The dough is molded into a ball and served. Diners remove portions of the dough with their fingertips and dip them into a stew.”
