Dioscorea Elephantipes

It is a deciduous climber. It takes the name “elephant’s foot” from the appearance of its large, partially buried, tuberous stem, which grows very slowly but often reaches a considerable size, often more than 3 m (10 ft) in circumference with a height of nearly 1 m (3 ft 3 in) above ground. It is rich in starch, whence the name Hottentot bread, and is covered on the outside with thick, hard, corky plates.^[1]

Primarily a winter grower, it develops slender, leafy, climbing shoots^[1] with dark-spotted, greenish-yellow flowers in winter (May or June in habitat)^[2] The flowers are dioecious, with male or female flowers occurring on separate plants.