Dioscorea Mexicana

Dioscorea mexicana is a caudiciform climbing plant with a woody, plated base and vines bearing heart-shaped leaves. Mexico looked at a tortoise and said, “We can grow that.” The caudex develops its cracked pattern over time, while the vine heads upward with considerably less patience. This species belongs to the yam genus and occurs from Mexico into Central America; the sculptural storage base is the feature collectors tend to notice first. Part tortoise, part climbing plant, and somehow a real botanical arrangement. Nobody appears to have stopped it.