Yam or Ñame (pronounced nyAH-may)

Also Ignaime (pronounced EE-nyabm), and many other Oriental and Caribbean names

What we in the United States call a yam is actually a sweet potato, a misnomer that has existed since slaves arrived and used a word like yam to designate the American vegetable. Yams grown by Africans do very superficially resemble sweet potatoes (which are part of another family; see Boniato). No one outside the United States calls sweet potatoes “yams,” and anyone who wishes to continue doing so should know that the majority is overwhelming: 25 million tons of yams are produced annually, by most countries in the tropics and subtropics, making them one of the most important food crops in the world.