List of Vegetables: I. Examples of Crops With Edible Roots

Below is a partial list of vegetables (or vegetable crops) with edible botanical roots.

The scientific names, family, and other relevant information are likewise supplied.

This is Page 1 of five web pages providing the list of vegetables.

This page provides some examples of vegetable crops having a vegetative part (roots) that is used in the preparation of “vegetable” dishes or recipes.

Those with other edible vegetative parts (stems and leaves) and reproductive parts (flowers, fruits, and seeds) are treated on other separate pages.

Carrot has an edible part that is botanically a root
Carrot has an edible part that is botanically a root

Some plant species which are largely grown as agronomic crops are given as examples merely to provide information that they are also utilized as food crops with edible parts that are used in culinary preparation.

If such is the case, additional information is reflected in the fourth column.

Click here to read root crops vs. tuber crops vs. corm crops

With few exceptions, the botany of modified underground organs was confirmed by Kawakami (1978) and the family names from Simpson (2010).

Major families with two or more crop examples are color-coded for ease in compiling a list of vegetables under the same families.

For definitions of the types of vegetables, click here.

List of Vegetables (Vegetable Crops)

Table LV-1. List of vegetables (vegetable crops) in which the edible part of the plant body consists mainly of the root.

Crop NameSCI. NameFamilyCollective Name for Members of the Family, Other Info
Arrowroot, uraroMaranta arundinaceaAraceaeArum family; the botanical name of the underground storage organ is tuberous root (Kawakami 1978); generally classified under starchy Root and Tuber Crops (agronomic crop)
BeetBeta vulgarisAmaranthaceaeAmaranth family, including Chenopodiaceae; the botanical name of the underground storage organ is fleshy root (Kawakami 1978)
Cassava, tapioca, maniocManihot esculentaEuphorbiaceaeSpurge family; the botanical name of the underground storage organ is the tuberous root; young leaves are also eaten cooked; generally classified under starchy Root and Tuber Crops (agronomic crop)
CarrotDaucus carotaApiaceae/UmbelliferaeCarrot family; fleshy root
ParsnipPastinaca sativaApiaceae/UmbelliferaeCarrot family; fleshy root
RaddishRaphanus sativusBrassicaceae/CruciferaeMustard family, also called Cole Crops and Crucifers; fleshy root
Rutabaga, swedeBrassica napusBrassicaceae/CruciferaeMustard family, also called Cole Crops and Crucifers; fleshy root
Salsify, Oyster plant, Vegetable oysterTragopogon porrifoliusAsteraceae/CompositaeSunflower or Aster family
Scorzonera, Black salsifyScorzonera hispanicaAsteraceae/CompositaeSunflower or Aster family
Sweet potato, camoteIpomoea batatasConvolvulaceaeMorning Glory/Bindweed family; tuberous root; young leaves and stems (camote tops) are also eaten cooked or blanched; generally classified under starchy Root and Tuber Crops (agronomic crop)
TurnipBrassica rapaBrassicaceae/CruciferaeMustard family, also called Cole Crops and Crucifers; tuberous root
Yam bean, singkamasPachyrrhizus erosusFabaceae/LeguminosaeBean/Pea family, also called Legumes; tuberous root; the enlarged root is mainly consumed raw like a dessert fruit; young pods (fruits) are also eaten cooked

REFERENCES

  1. HILL A. 1972. Economic Botany. 2nd ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. Ltd. 560 p.
  2. KAWAKAMI K. 1978. Physiology of yield of underground storage organs. In: Gupta US, ed. Crop Physiology. New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. p. 269-309.
  3. PEEL L. 2004. HarperCollins Practical Gardener: Kitchen Garden. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc. 176 p.
  4. SIMPSON MG. 2010. Plant Systematics. 2nd ed. San Diego, CA: Elsevier Inc. 740 p.
  5. The Essential Gardening Encyclopedia. 2003. San Francisco, CA: Fog City Press. 608 p.
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Ben Bareja

Ben Bareja, the owner-founder-webmaster of CropsReview.com. This website was conceptualized primarily to serve as an e-library for reference purposes on the principles and practices in crop science, including basic botany. Read more here

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