Vegetables · FFET10450
Wen County iron-stick yam
Iron-stick yam from Wen County, Henan, sold fresh and processed into tea drinks and yam powder.
CanonVegetablesWen County iron-stick yam is grown in Wen County, Jiaozuo, Henan. Local harvesting was reported in December of both 2024 and 2025. Alongside fresh yam, local processing produces tea drinks, foods, and yam powder.
What
Wen County iron-stick yam is a yam grown in Wen County, Henan. It is available fresh and processed into tea drinks, foods, and yam powder.1,2
When
Harvesting and loading were photographed locally on December 26, 2024, and a report dated December 11, 2025, also documented a large-scale harvest. These records show harvesting continuing into December; they do not establish when local cultivation began. An old text records that the yam was renamed shanyao after a Song-dynasty naming taboo, but it concerns yam in general and does not name Wen County.1,2,3
Where
The crop is grown in Wen County, Jiaozuo, Henan. Harvest reports cover Baigouzuo village in Fantian town and Guanzhao village in Xiangyun town.1,2
How
Local cultivation is becoming more standardized and larger in scale, with cooperatives, companies, and farmers working together alongside online sales. Harvested yam is also processed into tea drinks, foods, and yam powder. Older cookbooks describe boiled yam cut into lengths, wrapped in bean-curd skin and fried, or mashed to thicken a stew; these concern yam in general.1,2,4,5
Why
The available accounts do not explain how Wen County iron-stick yam differs from yam grown elsewhere.
Impact and influence
The report dated December 11, 2025, recorded about 30,000 mu of iron-stick yam cultivation in Wen County and described local processing into tea drinks, foods, and yam powder.1