Dioscorea hemicrypta green and dry stems

The thin stems and small leaves of Dioscorea hemicrypta grow somewhat anticlimactically from the top of the commanding bulk of the caudex. The stems become 30 cm to 1,2 m long.

These upper stems start growing in winter, bearing the leaves and flowers (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984).