[8] Introduced to the United States as early as the 19th century for culinary and cultural uses, it is now considered an invasive plant species.

[7][9][10][11] The plant was introduced to Europe in the 19th century during the European Potato Failure, where cultivation continues to this day for the contemporary East Asian food market.

[2] Furthermore, neither D. oppositifolia nor the prior D. opposita have been found growing in North America and have no historical range in China or East Asia, since this grouping is exclusively native only to the subcontinent of India and should not be confused with Dioscorea polystachya.

[11] Dioscorea polystachya is more tolerant to frost and cooler climates than other yams, which is attributed to its successful introductions and establishment on many continents.

[20] Cultivars of this species (such as yamatoimo) is sometimes called "Japanese mountain yam",[21] though that term should properly be reserved for the native Dioscorea japonica.

Creams and dietary supplements made from the related Dioscorea villosa are claimed to contain human hormones and promoted as a medicine for a variety of purposes, including cancer prevention and the treatment of Crohn's disease and whooping cough.

It is troublesome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where its range is "rapidly expanding", particularly into the Tennessee Valley where different native, hybrid and/or invasive non-native variants of morning glory and bindweed as well as invasive kudzu and cuscuta (dodder) have all become problematic and are similar in appearance to the fast-moving and often mishandled tubers.

As Chinese yam and air potatoes continue to destroy entire swaths of gardens and yards though are not yet classified as invasive in these areas, residents seeking to eat the tuber plant their vines in unprotected land while residents seeking removal chop the tops off of vines at ground level and compost or mulch them before realizing this only makes the problem worse and that no weed killers on the market are able to rid a garden or yard of the plant.

[26][27] This may cause a slight irritation to the hand, and wearing a latex glove is advised, but if an itch develops then lemon juice or vinegar may be applied.

[27][25] The peeled whole tubers are briefly soaked in a vinegar-water solution, to neutralize irritant oxalate crystals found in their skin,[17] and to prevent discoloration.

[26] The raw vegetable is starchy and bland, mucilaginous when cut or grated,[28][25] and may be eaten plain as a side dish, or added to noodles, etc.

[30] The classic Japanese culinary technique is to grate the yam by grinding it against the rough grooved surface of a suribachi, which is an earthenware mortar.

[31] Or the yam is first grated crudely using an oroshigane grater, and subsequently worked into a smoother paste in the suribachi using a wooden pestle.

[17][35][29] The tororo poured over raw tuna (maguro) sliced into cubes is called yamakake, and eaten with soy sauce and wasabi.

[29] In Korea, there are two main types of Chinese yam: The straight, tube-shaped variant is called jangma (Korean: 장마; lit.

They are most commonly consumed raw, after the skinned roots have been blended with water, milk or yogurt (occasionally with additional honey) to create a nourishing drink known as majeup (마즙) or "ma juice" (마주스).

Alternatively, the peeled tubers are cut into pieces and served—either raw, after cooking, steaming or frying, along with seasoning sauces.

The Chinese yam's growing cycle spans approximately one year, and should be planted between winter and spring.