A Study on Potential and Value Addition of a Rare Medicinal/Culnary Plant Dioscoria Belophylla, Tarar (Wild Yam) of Shivalik Belt in Sunderbani Forest Range, District Rajouri

Dioscorea belophylla ,Synonym: Dioscorea glabra dy-oh-SKOR-ee-uh -- named for Pedanios Dioscorides, 1st century Greek pharmacologist bel-ohFIL-uh -- spear or arrow-like leaves. The plant is native to India and Pakistan , although the genus Dioscorea , a pan-continental genus belonging to the family Dioscoreaceae, is found in Africa , Southeast Asia , Australia and tropical America (Jayasurya 1984; Wilkin 1998), with about 630 scientifically described taxa. (Prain and Burkill 1936) reported the occurrence of about 50 different Dioscorea in India , largely in the west, east and northeast regions. Many of the Dioscrorea species serve as a ‘life saving or famine food’ plant group to marginal farming and forest dwelling communities, during periods of food scarcity (Roy et al. 1988; Arora and Anjula Pandey 1996). Yam (Dioscorea spp.) provides food and medicines to millions of people in the world especially in the tropics and sub tropics. It is recognized as the fourth most important tuber crop after potatoes, cassava, and sweet potatoes. It contributes about 10% of the total root and tubers production around the world. Yams also considered as famine food and plays a prime role in the food habit of small and marginal rural families and forest-dwelling communities during the food scarcity periods(Bandana Padhan and Debabrata Panda, 2020)