Perennial vegetables are

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

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

asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

artichoke The 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 other names: French artichoke, globe artichoke, ...

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 plant is a herbaceous perennial that grows from short, thick rhizomes. ...

. 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, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

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, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

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 tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

, ''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, skirret,

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 ''Ru ...

, and Good King Henry.

List

* Abelmoschus manihot, edible hibiscus * Allium ampeloprasum, perennial leek * Allium cepa aggregatum,

potato onion The potato onion (also known as an Egyptian onion, underground onion or multiplier onion) is a group of varieties

Allium fistulosum ''Allium fistulosum'', the Welsh onion, also commonly called bunching onion, long green onion, Japanese bunching onion, and spring onion, is a species of perennial plant, often considered to be a kind of scallion. The species is very similar ...

, the Welsh onion, a perennial scallion * 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 schoenoprasum,

chives Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. A perennial plant, ''A. schoenoprasum'' is widespread in nature across much of Eurasia and North America. It is the only spe ...

* Aralia cordata, 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 have been selectively bred in Polynesia from the breadnut ('' Artocarpus camansi''). Breadfruit was spread into ...

* Asparagus officinalis,

* Atriplex halimus, saltbush *

Basella alba ''Basella alba'' is an edible perennial vine in the family Basellaceae. It is found in tropical Asia and Africa where it is widely used as a leaf vegetable. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and New Guinea. It is naturaliz ...

, Malabar spinach * Beta vulgaris maritima,

sea beet The sea beet, ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''maritima'' (L.) Arcangeli., is an Old World perennial plant with edible leaves, leading to the common name wild spinach. Description Sea beet is an erect and sprawling perennial plant up to high with da ...

* Blitum bonus-henricus, Good King Henry *

Brassica oleracea ''Brassica oleracea'', also known as wild cabbage in its uncultivated form, is a plant of the family Brassicaceae. The species originated from feral populations of related plants in the Eastern Mediterranean, where it was most likely first cultiv ...

acephala varieties, tree collards or tree kale *

alboglabra,

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

Bunias orientalis ''Bunias orientalis'', the Turkish wartycabbage, warty-cabbage, hill mustard, or Turkish rocket, is an edible wild plant species in the genus '' Bunias''. It is classified as an invasive neophyte in most of Middle Europe and parts of North Ameri ...

, Turkish rocket *

Camassia ''Camassia'' is a genus of plants in the asparagus family native to North America. Common names include camas, quamash, Indian hyacinth, camash, and wild hyacinth. It grows in the wild in great numbers in moist meadows. They are perennial pl ...

spp., camas * Canna edulis, achira * Capparis spinosa, capers *

Capsicum baccatum ''Capsicum baccatum'', also simply referred to as ' (), is a member of the genus ''Capsicum'', and is one of the five domesticated chili pepper species. The fruit tends to be very pungent and registers 30,000 to 50,000 on the Scoville heat unit ...

, aji amarillo *

Capsicum pubescens ''Capsicum pubescens'' is a plant of the genus ''Capsicum'' (pepper). The species name, ''pubescens'', refers to the hairy leaves of this pepper. The hairiness of the leaves, along with the black seeds, make ''Capsicum pubescens'' distinguishab ...

, 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, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

* Cicorium intybus,

chicory Common chicory (''Cichorium intybus'') is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae, usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Native to Europe, it has been introduced to the Americas and Australia. M ...

* Cnidoscolus chayamansa, chaya *

Coccinia grandis ''Coccinia grandis'', the ivy gourd, also known as scarlet gourd, 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. ''Coccinia grandis'' is cooked ...

, 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, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

* Crambe maritima, sea kale * Cynara cardunculus, cardoon * Cynara scolymus,

* Dioscorea bulbifera, air potato * Helianthus tuberosus,

Jerusalem artichoke The Jerusalem artichoke (''Helianthus tuberosus''), also called sunroot, sunchoke, wild sunflower, topinambur, or earth apple, is a species of Helianthus, sunflower native to central North America. It is cultivated widely across the temperate z ...

* Ipomoea batatas,

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of ...

Lablab ''Lablab purpureus'' is a species of bean in the family Fabaceae. It is native to sub-Saharan 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, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

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 Eurasia. It is one of the oldest known leaf vegetab ...

, water cress *

Nelumbo nucifera ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as the pink lotus, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant taxon, extant species of aquatic plant in the Family (biology), family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a ...

, lotus * Oxalis tuberosa, oca *

Phaseolus coccineus ''Phaseolus coccineus'', known as runner bean, scarlet runner bean, or multiflora bean, is a plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. Another common name is butter bean, which, however, can also refer to the lima bean, a different species. It is ...

, runner bean * Plantago coronopus, minutina * Rheum rhabarbarum,

* Rumex acetosa,

* Rumex scutatus, shield-leaf sorrel * Sauropus androgynus, katuk * Scorzonera hispanica, black salsify * Sium sisarum, 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, crosne * Suaeda pulvinata, seepweed *

Toona sinensis ''Toona sinensis'', common name, commonly called Chinese mahogany, Chinese cedar, Chinese toon, beef and onion plant, or red toon (; ; ; ; ) is a species of ''Toona'' native to eastern and southeastern Asia, ranging from northern Korean peninsula ...

, 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