This has an ancient of cultivation in East Asia for its edible aerial bulbils and larger subterranean tubers; it may also be an ornamental, and many cultivars are known (Zhang et al. 2014). The species is now widely naturalized in east-central states, from Appalachian to Ozarkian regions (K, SE). The first Ky. record was provided by Wharton (1945). It may well occur in all Ky. counties; see also "bulbifera" of SE. D. polystachya (2n = 140-144) may be a true Dioscorea, and the North America plants placed in this genus could potentially be transferred to Merione (as reviewed by W). D. bulbifera L. is a closely related pantropical species with unlobed (versus lobed) leaves, which has been confused with polystachya in some mappings (SE). In North America, bulbifera is largely restricted to subtropical transitions on the southeastern Coastal Plain (K, W). The aerial "tubers" (really bulbils) of D. polystachya may be used by herbivorous mammals (e.g. wood rats, pers. obs.), but human use in North America is not well documented. Their complex chemistry has been researched for potential nutritional and medicinal benefits, but mostly in East Asia (e.g. Zhao et al. 2009, Hou et al 2010, Ma et al. 2017).