A RARE variety of the world’s largest vegetable has been rediscovered in the
wild after 40 years. Scientists feared that the elephant’s foot—a variety
of wild yam—had become extinct in its only habitat, the Northern Cape
plateau of South Africa. Called elephant’s foot because of its huge edible tuber
that can weigh up to 300 kilograms, the yam was over-collected by botanists and
plant traders. But the sub-species of Dioscorea elephantipes was spotted by
botanists from the Millennium Seed Bank in Sussex during a seed-collecting
expedition to the plateau in February. Embarrassingly, says Paul Smith of the
seed…
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features

Mind
Vocal fry is more common in men, actually, find scientists
News

Environment
Will burying dead trees after a wildfire keep their carbon locked up?
News

Technology
3 things you need to know about quantum computers, from an expert
Comment

Environment
Melting of Greenland ice sheet could release methane 'fire ice'
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Why autism pioneer Uta Frith wants to dismantle the spectrum
2
Rebooting stem cells builds aged muscles and assists injury recovery
3
Neanderthals treated a dental cavity by drilling into the tooth
4
Asteroid set to fly very close to Earth
5
Vocal fry is more common in men, actually, find scientists
6
Rapid bursts of ageing are causing a total rethink of how we grow old
7
PCOS has been officially renamed PMOS, and it’s a momentous move
8
3 things you need to know about quantum computers, from an expert
9
The story of the first human tool: the humble container
10
There has been a sudden increase in the rate of sea level rise