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Elephant's Foot Yam

Dioscorea elephantipes, Dioscoreaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called hottentot-bread and tortoise plant.

Elephant's Foot Yam (Dioscorea elephantipes), the whole plant.
wielies, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elephant's Foot Yam is toxic

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Toxic to people. Toxic when eaten; irritates skin. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS

What the sources say about its care

Light
Full sun
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H1C — 5–10°C 5–10 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
Toxic when eaten; irritates skin. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
During growth, water moderately and feed every two or three weeks with a balanced liquid fertiliser; in winter keep completely dry.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
While growing, water moderately and feed every two or three weeks with a balanced liquid fertiliser; in winter keep the plant fully dry.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
In spring, sow seed kept at 19 to 24°C, or root softwood cuttings taken from young shoots as they emerge from the tuber, also in spring.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Pruning group 11, in spring.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by froghoppers and aphids. Diseases: usually none.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

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Close view of Elephant's Foot Yam (Dioscorea elephantipes) foliage.
Close upoutramps-tanniedi, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Dioscorea elephantipes, the elephant's foot yam or Hottentot bread, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Dioscorea of the family Dioscoreaceae, native to the dry interior of South Africa.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Cape Prov.
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
South Africa
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
subtropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
climbing caudex geophyte
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Climbing (deciduous)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 0.5-1 metres; spread 0.5-1 metres after 5–10 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers green in summer; yellow in summer
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.