Perennial vegetables are

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s that can live for more than two years. Some well known perennial vegetables from the temperate regions of the world include asparagus,

artichoke The globe artichoke (''Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green articho ...

and

rhubarb Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhizo ...

. In the tropics,

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

and

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

are grown as vegetables, and these plants can live many years. Some perennial plants are cultivated as annuals in order to minimise pest pressure (e.g.,

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

, ''Solanum tuberosum''). Perennial vegetables are an integral part of many cultural diets around the world, particularly in

tropical agriculture Worldwide more human beings gain their livelihood from agriculture than any other endeavor; the majority are self-employed subsistence farmers living in the tropics. While growing food for local consumption is the core of tropical agriculture, ...

. In contrast, temperate Eurasian cultures have relied on annual cereals (oats, barley, wheat) as dietary staples since antiquity. Some examples of older temperate varieties include:

seakale ''Crambe maritima'', common name sea kale, seakale or crambe, is a species of halophytic (salt-tolerant) flowering plant in the genus ''Crambe'' of the family Brassicaceae. It grows wild along the coasts of mainland Europe and the British Isl ...

skirret ''Sium sisarum'', commonly known as skirret, is a perennial plant of the family Apiaceae sometimes grown as a root vegetable. The English name skirret is derived from the Middle English 'skirwhit' or 'skirwort', meaning 'white root'. In Scotlan ...

sorrel Sorrel (''Rumex acetosa''), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ('dock' being a common name for the genus '' ...

, and

Good King Henry ''Blitum bonus-henricus'' ( syn. ''Chenopodium bonus-henricus''), also called Good-King-Henry, poor-man's asparagus, perennial goosefoot, Lincolnshire spinach, Markery, English mercury, or mercury goosefoot, is a species of goosefoot which is na ...

List

* Abelmoschus manihot, edible hibiscus * Allium ampeloprasum, perennial leek * Allium cepa aggregatum, potato onion * Allium × proliferum,

tree onion The tree onion (''Allium'' × ''proliferum'') is a perennial plant similar to the common onion (''A. cepa''), but with a cluster of bulblets where a normal onion would have flowers. Tree onions are also known as topsetting onions, walking ...

or walking onion * Allium schoenprasum, chives *

Aralia cordata ''Aralia cordata'' is an upright herbaceous perennial plant growing up to in height, native to Japan, Korea and eastern China. Its common names include spikenard, herbal aralia, ''udo'' (from ja, ウド), Japanese spikenard, and mountain aspar ...

, udo * Arracacia xanthorrhiza, arracacha * Artocarpus altilis,

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...

* Asparagus officinalis, asparagus *

Atriplex halimus ''Atriplex halimus'' (known also by its common names: Mediterranean saltbush, sea orache, shrubby orache, silvery orache; ; also spelled orach) is a species of fodder shrub in the family Amaranthaceae. Description The plant has small gray leav ...

, saltbush * Basella alba, Malabar spinach * Beta vulgaris maritima, sea beet *

Blitum bonus-henricus ''Blitum bonus-henricus'' ( syn. ''Chenopodium bonus-henricus''), also called Good-King-Henry, poor-man's asparagus, perennial goosefoot, Lincolnshire spinach, Markery, English mercury, or mercury goosefoot, is a species of goosefoot which is na ...

, Good King Henry *

Brassica oleracea ''Brassica oleracea'' is a plant species from family Brassicaceae that includes many common cultivars used as vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, and gai lan. Its ...

acephala varieties, tree collards or tree kale *

alboglabra,

kai-lan Gai lan, kai-lan, Chinese broccoli, Chinese kale, or jie lan (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''alboglabra'') is a leaf vegetable with thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems, and florets similar to (but much smaller than) broccoli. ...

Bunias orientalis ''Bunias orientalis'', the Turkish wartycabbage, warty-cabbage, hill mustard, or Turkish rocket, is an edible wild plant species in the genus ''Bunias ''Bunias'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. The genus inc ...

, Turkish rocket * Camassia spp., camas * Canna edulis, achira * Capparis spinosa, capers * Capsicum baccatum, aji amarillo * Capsicum pubescens, manzano chile * Carica papaya,

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

* Cicorium intybus, chicory *

Cnidoscolus chayamansa ''Cnidoscolus aconitifolius'', commonly known as chaya, tree spinach, or spinach tree, is a large, fast-growing and leafy perennial shrub that is believed to have originated in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. The specific epithet, ''aconitif ...

, chaya *

Coccinia grandis ''Coccinia grandis'', the ivy gourd, also known as scarlet gourd, tindora and kowai fruit, is a tropical vine. It grows primarily in tropical climates and is commonly found in the Indian states, where it forms a part of the local cuisine. ''Coc ...

, ivy gourd or perennial cucumber *

Colocasia esculenta Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in African ...

Crambe maritima ''Crambe maritima'', common name sea kale, seakale or crambe, is a species of halophytic (salt-tolerant) flowering plant in the genus ''Crambe'' of the family Brassicaceae. It grows wild along the coasts of mainland Europe and the British Isl ...

, sea kale * Cynara cardunculus,

cardoon The cardoon, ''Cynara cardunculus'' (), also called the artichoke thistle, is a thistle in the family Asteraceae. It is a naturally occurring species that also has many cultivated forms, including the globe artichoke. It is native to the wester ...

* Cynara scolymus,

Dioscorea bulbifera ''Dioscorea bulbifera'' (commonly known as the air potato, air yam, bitter yam, cheeky yam, potato yam, aerial yam, and parsnip yam) is a species of true yam in the yam family, Dioscoreaceae. It is native to Africa, Asia and northern Australia. ...

, air potato * Helianthus tuberosus, Jerusalem artichoke * Ipomoea batatas,

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

Lablab ''Lablab purpureus'' is a species of bean in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa and it is cultivated throughout the tropics for food.cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

Nasturtium officinale Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Europe and Asia. It is one of the oldest known leaf ve ...

, water cress *

Nelumbo nucifera ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often re ...

, lotus *

Oxalis tuberosa ''Oxalis tuberosa'' is a perennial herbaceous plant that overwinters as underground stem tubers. These tubers are known as uqa in Quechua, oca in Spanish, yam in New Zealand and a number of other alternative names. The plant was brought into cult ...

, oca * Phaseolus coccineus, runner bean *

Plantago coronopus ''Plantago coronopus'', the buck's-horn plantain, is a herbaceous annual to perennial flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. Other common names in the US and Italy include minutina and erba stella. Description ''Plantago coronopus'' prod ...

, minutina * Rheum rhabarbarum,

* Rumex acetosa,

Rumex scutatus ''Rumex scutatus'' (syn. ''Rumex alpestris'') is a plant in the buckwheat family, used as a culinary herb. Its common names include French sorrel, buckler sorrel, shield-leaf sorrel, and sometimes the culinary name "green-sauce". As a culinary ...

, shield-leaf sorrel * Sauropus androgynus, katuk *

Scorzonera hispanica ''Scorzonera hispanica'', commonly known as black salsify or Spanish salsify, also known as black oyster plant, serpent root, viper's herb, viper's grass or simply scorzonera, is a perennial member of the genus ''Scorzonera'' in the sunflower fa ...

, black salsify *

Sium sisarum ''Sium sisarum'', commonly known as skirret, is a perennial plant of the family Apiaceae sometimes grown as a root vegetable. The English name skirret is derived from the Middle English 'skirwhit' or 'skirwort', meaning 'white root'. In Scotlan ...

, skirret *

Smallanthus sonchifolius ''Smallanthus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Millerieae within the family Asteraceae. Taxonomy The following species are currently recognized: *''Smallanthus apus'' – Mexico *''Smallanthus cocuyensis'' – Colombia *''Smallanth ...

, yacón *

Stachys affinis ''Stachys affinis'', commonly called crosne, Chinese artichoke, Japanese artichoke, knotroot, or artichoke betony, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Lamiaceae, originating from China. Its rhizome is a root vegetable that can be e ...

, crosne *

Suaeda pulvinata ''Suaeda pulvinata'' is an endemic seepweed from Mexico. It lives in the shores of Lake Texcoco and Lake Totolcingo. It lives underwater as an aquatic plant for half of the year and in dry land as a terrestrial plant for the other half due to th ...

, seepweed *

Toona sinensis ''Toona sinensis'', commonly called Chinese mahogany, Chinese cedar, Chinese toon, beef and onion plant, or red toon (; hi, डारलू, d̩āralū; ms, suren; vi, hương xuân) is a species of ''Toona'' native to eastern and southeast ...

, fragrant spring tree or xiāngchūn * Vasconcellea × heilbornii,

babaco The babaco (''Vasconcellea'' × ''heilbornii''; syn. ''Carica pentagona''), is a hybrid cultivar in the genus ''Vasconcellea'' from Ecuador. It is a hybrid between '' Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis'' (syn. ''Carica pubescens'', "mountain papaya". ...

papaya

List

See also

Further reading

References