Dioscorea bulbifera, the air potato, is a species of true yam in the yam family, Dioscoreaceae. It is known as varahi in Sanskrit, kaachil in Malayalam and dukkar kand in Marathi. It is native to Africa, southern Asia (India, China, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, etc.) and northern Australia. It is widely cultivated and has escaped to become naturalized in many regions (Latin America, the West Indies, the southeastern United States, and various oceanic islands).