Botanical atlas

Wild Yam

Dioscorea villosa

Wild yam has long been called colic root and rheumatism root by American herbalists and Appalachian granny women, who steeped its knotty, twisting rhizome to ease cramping, griping bellies, and aching joints. Native communities and early physicians alike turned to it for what was once called female complaints, using it as a gentle antispasmodic for the womb. Its greatest fame came in the twentieth century, when chemist Russell Marker discovered a way to convert the diosgenin in wild yam root into synthetic progesterone, a breakthrough that helped launch the modern birth control pill and cortisone therapies. The root itself, though, holds no hormones your body can use, its traditional value lies in its long history as a calming, cramp-easing remedy rather than as a hormone source.

In tradition.

Wild yam has long been called colic root and rheumatism root by American herbalists and Appalachian granny women, who steeped its knotty, twisting rhizome to ease cramping, griping bellies, and aching joints. Native communities and early physicians alike turned to it for what was once called female complaints, using it as a gentle antispasmodic for the womb. Its greatest fame came in the twentieth century, when chemist Russell Marker discovered a way to convert the diosgenin in wild yam root into synthetic progesterone, a breakthrough that helped launch the modern birth control pill and cortisone therapies. The root itself, though, holds no hormones your body can use, its traditional value lies in its long history as a calming, cramp-easing remedy rather than as a hormone source.

Traditional preparations.

Safety.

Wild yam root isn't eaten raw or in quantity; its saponins can cause nausea if overused. It contains no hormones the body can use directly, despite popular claims, so it isn't a substitute for hormone therapy, and it's best avoided in pregnancy or with hormone-sensitive conditions.