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Root vegetables are plant roots used as vegetable
Vegetable

The term "vegetable" generally means the Eating parts of plants. The definition of the word is traditional rather than scientific, however, and therefore the usage of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of food selection and food preparation....
s. Other underground plants are often, erroneously, called root vegetables. Root vegetables include both true root
Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
s such as tuberous roots and taproot
Taproot

A plant's taproot is a somewhat straight tapering root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally....
s, but exclude non-roots such as tuber
Tuber

Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to overwinter and regrow the next year and as a means of asexual reproduction....
s, rhizome
Rhizome

In botany, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal plant stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes....
s, corm
Corm

A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant Plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ....
s, and bulb
Bulb

A bulb is an underground vertical shoot that has modified leaf that are used as food storage organs by a dormancy plant.A bulb's leaf bases generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions....
s. Several types contain both taproot and hypocotyl
Hypocotyl

Hypocotyl is a Botany term for a part of a germination seedling of a seed plant. As the plant embryo grows at germination, it sends out a shoot called a radicle that becomes the primary root and penetrates down into the soil....
 tissue, and it may be difficult to distinguish the two.

Regardless of anatomical type, root vegetables are generally storage organ
Storage organ

A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores....
s, enlarged to store energy in the form of carbohydrate
Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates or saccharides are the most abundant of the four major classes of biomolecules. They fill numerous roles in living things, such as the storage and transport of energy and structural components ....
s.






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Root vegetables are plant roots used as vegetable
Vegetable

The term "vegetable" generally means the Eating parts of plants. The definition of the word is traditional rather than scientific, however, and therefore the usage of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of food selection and food preparation....
s. Other underground plants are often, erroneously, called root vegetables. Root vegetables include both true root
Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
s such as tuberous roots and taproot
Taproot

A plant's taproot is a somewhat straight tapering root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally....
s, but exclude non-roots such as tuber
Tuber

Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to overwinter and regrow the next year and as a means of asexual reproduction....
s, rhizome
Rhizome

In botany, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal plant stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes....
s, corm
Corm

A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant Plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ....
s, and bulb
Bulb

A bulb is an underground vertical shoot that has modified leaf that are used as food storage organs by a dormancy plant.A bulb's leaf bases generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions....
s. Several types contain both taproot and hypocotyl
Hypocotyl

Hypocotyl is a Botany term for a part of a germination seedling of a seed plant. As the plant embryo grows at germination, it sends out a shoot called a radicle that becomes the primary root and penetrates down into the soil....
 tissue, and it may be difficult to distinguish the two.

Regardless of anatomical type, root vegetables are generally storage organ
Storage organ

A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores....
s, enlarged to store energy in the form of carbohydrate
Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates or saccharides are the most abundant of the four major classes of biomolecules. They fill numerous roles in living things, such as the storage and transport of energy and structural components ....
s. They differ in the concentration and the balance between sugar
Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
s, starch
Starch

File:Amylose2.svgFile:Amylopektin Sessel.svgStarch or amylum is a polysaccharide carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds....
es, and other types of carbohydrate.

Of particular economic importance are those with a high carbohydrate concentration in the form of starch. These starchy root vegetables are important staple food
Staple food

A staple food is a food that can be stored for use throughout the year and forms the basis of a traditional diet. Staple foods vary from place to place, but are typically inexpensive starchy foods of vegetable origin that are high in food energy and carbohydrate....
s, particularly in tropical regions. They overshadow the cereal
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
s throughout much of West Africa
West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:...
, Central Africa
Central Africa

Central Africa is a core region of the African continent often considered to include Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
, and Oceania
Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
, where they are used directly or mashed to make foufou or poi
Poi (food)

Poi is a Hawaiian language word for the primary Polynesian staple food made from the corm of the kalo plant . Poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm to a highly viscous fluid....
.

Some Jains
Jains

Jains may refer to:* People who are from Jain religion called List of Jains, a list of people who follow the Jain religion.* Jainism, known as Jain Dharma , is a religion and philosophy...
 are opposed to eating root vegetables for ethical reasons.

List of underground vegetables by anatomical type


Manihot Esculenta Dsc07325
Colocasia Esculenta Dsc07801
Yamsatbrixtonmarket
Shallots Sliced and Whole
  • True root
    • Taproot
      Taproot

      A plant's taproot is a somewhat straight tapering root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally....
       (some types may incorporate substantial hypocotyl
      Hypocotyl

      Hypocotyl is a Botany term for a part of a germination seedling of a seed plant. As the plant embryo grows at germination, it sends out a shoot called a radicle that becomes the primary root and penetrates down into the soil....
       tissue)
      • Apium graveolens (celeriac
        Celeriac

        Celeriac is also known as 'celery root,' 'turnip-rooted celery' or 'knob celery'. It is a cultivar of celery, grown as a root vegetable for its large and well-developed hypocotyl rather than for its plant stem and leaf....
        )
      • Arctium spp. (burdock or gobo)
      • Arracacia xanthorrhiza (arracacha)
      • Beta vulgaris (beet
        Beet

        The beet is a plant in the Amaranthaceae. It is best known its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is probably the red root vegetable known as the garden beet....
         and mangelwurzel
        Mangelwurzel

        Mangelwurzel or mangold wurzel , is a root vegetable of the family Chenopodiaceae, genus Beta . Its large white, yellow or orange-yellow swollen roots were developed in the 1700s for feeding livestock...
        )
      • Brassica
        Brassica

        Brassica is a genus of plants in the mustard family . The members of the genus may be collectively known either as cabbages, or as mustards....
         spp. (rutabaga
        Rutabaga

        The rutabaga, swede , or yellow turnip is a root vegetable that originated as a cross between the cabbage and the turnip. Its leaves can also be eaten as a leaf vegetable....
         and turnip)
      • Bunium persicum
        Bunium persicum

        Bunium persicum or black cumin is a plant in the family Apiaceae. Dried B. persicum fruits are used as a culinary spice in Northern India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Iran....
         (black cumin)
      • Daucus carota (carrot)
      • Lepidium meyenii
        Lepidium meyenii

        Lepidium meyenii or maca is an herbaceous biennial plant or annual plant native to the high Andes of Bolivia and Peru. It is grown for its fleshy hypocotyl , which is used as a root vegetable and a medicinal herb....
         (maca)
      • Pachyrhizus
        Pachyrhizus

        Pachyrhizus is a small genus of five or six species of tropical and subtropical plants growing from large, often edible taproots....
         spp. (jicama and ahipa)
      • Pastinaca sativa (parsnip
        Parsnip

        The parsnip is a root vegetable related to the carrot. Parsnips resemble carrots, but are paler than most of them and have a stronger flavor. Like carrots, parsnips are native to Eurasia and have been eaten there since ancient times....
        )
      • Petroselinum spp. (parsley
        Parsley

        Parsley is a bright green, biennial plant herb, also used as spice. It is very common in Middle Eastern cuisine, European cuisine, and American cuisine cooking....
         root)
      • Raphanus sativus (daikon
        Daikon

        is the Japanese name for a mild-flavored, very large, white, East Asian radish. Despite being known most commonly by its Japanese name, it did not originate in Japan, but rather in continental Asia....
         and radish
        Radish

        The radish is an Eating root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family that was domesticated in Europe in pre-Roman Empire times. They are grown and consumed throughout the world....
        )
      • Scorzonera hispanica (black salsify)
      • Sium sisarum
        Sium sisarum

        Sium sisarum is a perennial plant of the family Apiaceae sometimes grown as a root vegetable. It has a cluster of sweet, bright white roots which are similar to sweet potatoes, but longer ....
         (skirret)
      • Tragopogon spp. (salsify)
    • Tuberous root
      • Conopodium majus
        Conopodium majus

        Conopodium majus is a small perennial plant herb, whose underground part resembles a chestnut and is sometimes eaten as a wild or cultivated root vegetable....
         (pignut or earthnut)
      • Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato)
      • Manihot esculenta (cassava or yucca or manioc)
      • Mirabilis extensa (mauka or chago)
      • Psoralea esculenta
        Psoralea esculenta

        Psoralea esculenta is an herbaceous perennial plant native to prairies and dry woodlands of central North America, which bears a starchy tuberous root edible as a root vegetable....
         (breadroot, tipsin, or prairie turnip)
      • Smallanthus sonchifolius (yacón)
  • Modified stem
    Plant stem

    A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaf, inflorescence , conifer cones or other stems etc....
    • Corm
      Corm

      A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant Plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ....
      • Amorphophallus konjac (konjac)
      • Colocasia esculenta
        Colocasia esculenta

        Colocasia esculenta is a tropical plant grown primarily for its edible corm, a root vegetable known as Taro. It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants....
         (taro)
      • Eleocharis dulcis
        Eleocharis dulcis

        The Chinese water chestnut , more often called simply the water chestnut, is a grass-like Cyperaceae grown for its edible corms. It has tube-shaped, leafless green stems that grow to about 1.5 metres....
         (Chinese water chestnut)
      • Ensete
        Ensete

        Ensete, or Enset, is one of three genus of plants in the banana family, Musaceae, native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia....
         spp. (enset)
      • Sagittaria
        Sagittaria

        Sagittaria or "arrowhead" is a genus of about 20 species of aquatic plants whose members go by a variety of common names, including arrowhead, duck potato, iz-ze-kn, katniss, kuwai , swan potato, tule potato, and wapato ....
         spp. (arrowhead or wapatoo)
      • Xanthosoma
        Xanthosoma

        Xanthosoma is a genus of about 50 species of tropical and sub-tropical arums in the flowering plant family, Araceae, all native to tropical Americas....
         spp. (malanga, cocoyam, tannia, and other names)
    • Rhizome
      Rhizome

      In botany, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal plant stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes....
      • Zingiber officinale (ginger, galangal)
      • Curcuma longa (turmeric)
      • Panax ginseng (ginseng)
      • Arthropodium
        Arthropodium

        Arthropodium is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants native to the Southern Hemisphere. It is sometimes placed in the family Asphodelaceae....
         spp. (rengarenga, vanilla lily, and others)
      • Canna
        Canna (plant)

        Canna is a genus of approximately twenty species of flowering plants. The closest living relations to cannas are the other plant families of the order Zingiberales, that is the gingers, bananas, Marantaceae, heliconias, strelitzias, etc....
         spp. (canna)
      • Cordyline fruticosa (ti)
      • Maranta arundinacea (arrowroot)
      • Nelumbo nucifera
        Nelumbo nucifera

        Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India, or simply lotus. Botanically, Nelumbo nucifera may also be referred to by its Synonym , Nelumbium speciosum or Nymphaea nelumbo. This plant is an aquatic perennial....
         (lotus root)
      • Typha
        Typha

        Typha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the monogeneric family, Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan distribution, being found in a variety of wetland habitats....
         spp. (cattail or bulrush)
    • Tuber
      Tuber

      Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to overwinter and regrow the next year and as a means of asexual reproduction....
      • Apios americana
        Apios americana

        Apios americana, sometimes called the potato bean, hopniss, Indian potato or groundnut is a perennial plant vine native to eastern North America, and bears edible beans and large edible tubers....
         (hog potato or groundnut)
      • Cyperus esculentus
        Cyperus esculentus

        Cyperus esculentus is a species of Cyperaceae native to warm temperate to subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is an annual or perennial plant, growing to 90 cm tall, with solitary stems growing from a tuber....
         (tigernut or chufa)
      • Dioscorea
        Dioscorea

        Dioscorea is a genus of over 600 species of flowering plants in the family Dioscoreaceae, native throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world....
         spp. (yam
        Yam (vegetable)

        Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea .These are perennial plant herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania....
        s, ube
        Ube

        Ube is the Filipino language word for purple yam . It contains pigments that gives its violet color.In India, this vegetable is known as ratalu or Kand or violet yam or the Moraga Surprise....
        )
      • Hemerocallis spp. (daylily)
      • Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke)
      • Lathyrus tuberosus
        Lathyrus tuberosus

        Lathyrus tuberosus, also known as the Tuberous Pea, Earthnut Pea, or Aardaker, is a small, vine perennial plant, native in moist temperate parts of Europe and western Asia....
         (earthnut pea)
      • Oxalis tuberosa (oca or New Zealand yam)
      • Solanum tuberosum (potato)
      • Plectranthus edulis and P. esculentus
        Plectranthus esculentus

        Plectranthus esculentus is a species of plant in the Lamiaceae family. It is indigenous to Africa, is grown for its edible tubers. It is more difficult to cultivate than Plectranthus rotundifolius, but able to give greater yields....
        . (kembili, dazo, and others)
      • Stachys affinis
        Stachys affinis

        Stachys affinis, the Chinese artichoke, knotroot, artichoke betony, or crosne, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Lamiaceae....
         (Chinese artichoke or crosne)
      • Tropaeolum tuberosum (mashua or añu)
      • Ullucus tuberosus (ulluco)
  • Other
    • Bulb
      Bulb

      A bulb is an underground vertical shoot that has modified leaf that are used as food storage organs by a dormancy plant.A bulb's leaf bases generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions....
      • Allium
        Allium

        Allium is the onion genus, with about 1250 species, making it one of the largest plant genera in the world. They are perennial plant bulbous plants that produce chemical compounds that give them a characteristic onion or garlic taste and odor, and many are used as food plants....
         spp. (garlic
        Garlic

        Allium sativum L., commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, and chive....
        , onion
        Onion

        Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa....
        , shallot
        Shallot

        The term shallot is used to describe two different Allium species of plant. The French grey challot or griselle, which has been considered to be the ?true shallot? by many, is Allium oschaninii, a species that grows wild from Central Asia to Southwest Asia....
        , et cetera)
      • Camassia quamash (quamash)
      • Erythronium
        Erythronium

        Erythronium is a genus of bulbous spring-flowering perennials. They have attractive pendant flowers and sometimes mottled leaves. Many are best grown in shade so that the bulbs do not overheat or dry out....
         spp. (katakuri)
      • Lilium
        Lilium

        The genus Lilium are herbaceous flowering plants normally growing from bulbs. They comprise a genus of about 110 species in the lily family, Liliaceae....
         spp. (lilies)


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