Description
Jialong (Dioscorea elephantipes (L’Hér.) Engl.) is a succulent stem plant in the yam family, genus Dioscorea. The plant has a semicircular stem that can reach a diameter of up to 1 m. The stem surface is covered with thick, cracked, hexagonal lumps or nearly hexagonal woody bark. The lumps bear many heart‑shaped polygonal wrinkles. Leaves are alternate; the leaflets are heart‑shaped or kidney‑shaped and thin in color. The inflorescence is an umbel. Jialong’s flowers are small and yellow‑green. It is dioecious, and after artificial pollination the female plants set wide, feather‑like winged seeds.
The turtle‑scaled dragon is native to the arid mountainous regions of southern Africa, where the climate is Mediterranean: warm and rainy winters, and dry, hot summers.
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