Check out these air images:

Air Compressor


Image by espinr
Air Compressor in the Big Pit: The Welsh Coal Museum

Air Potato Roundup


Image by sassycrafter
This photo was taken while I was volunteering in Gainesville’s 9th Annual Great Air Potato Roundup.

The big brown thing in front of me is the tuber of an air potato called Dioscorea alata, or "winged yam." It probably weighed close to thirty pounds! (They aren’t always this big.)

The vine is classified as an exotic invasive species, meaning that it spreads into natural areas and displaces native species. These vines can grow up to 30 or more feet long– you see the remains of the vine coming off the top of the tuber in the photo. As the vines grow, they produce air potatoes (also called "bulbils") that later fall off and can sprout new vines.

The other type of invasive air potato that’s common in this area is Dioscorea bulbifera. You can see a few of the light-colored, round bulbils on the white plastic bag to my left.

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