Wild Yam
Dioscorea villosa
Wild yam is one of those plants that makes itself at home in a woodland edge without you noticing until it's beautifully woven through everything else. Heart-shaped leaves in alternating patterns catch light differently as the vine winds upward through shrubs and low tree branches. Small greenish-white flowers appear in summer, followed by attractive three-winged seed pods that persist into fall. This is a vine for naturalistic plantings, not formal trellises. It threads through the understory the way it evolved to. as part of a layered ecology, not a standalone specimen. If you're building a shade garden or woodland edge and want a native vine to complete the canopy story, wild yam fills that role quietly and reliably.
We grow a range of sizes and prices. Add the plant to your list, then pick your size when you visit.
Final price confirmed at pickup, depends on size and season.
- Thu, Jul 238 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Jul 248 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Jul 258 AM – 2 PM
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown wild yam propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Part sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 5'–12'
- Bloom
- Heart-shaped foliage through summer, decorative three-winged seed pods in fall, dies back cleanly in winter.
- USDA zones
- 4-9
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside wild yam.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle 9–12 species that work together. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Butterfly Package
Host and nectar plants chosen to feed monarchs, swallowtails, and fritillaries spring through fall.
Hummingbird Package
Tubular-flowered natives that pull ruby-throats through your yard April through October.
S.O.S. Package
Save Our Songbirds, berry- and seed-bearing natives that feed nesting and migrating birds.