Spices and Medicinal Herbs
A complete guide to vegetables, spices & herbs
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Classification of Vegetables
Vegetables are classified according to which part of the plant is eaten.
Some of the vegetables may fall into more than one category as more than
one part of the same plant is eaten.
Because of their difference in physical structure, both as plants or
parts of plants, and their variation in chemical composition, it is a
rather difficult matter to classify vegetables.
They are as follows:
Leafy Vegetables
The plants whose edible parts are the leaves. They are valued because of
their mineral and salts content. They are juicy in nature and are
sometimes also called succulent vegetables.
- Amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus)
- Arugula (Eruca sativa)
- Bitterleaf (Vernonia calvoana)
- Bok choy (Brassica rapa var. chinensis)
- Broccoli (Brassica oleracea Italica group)
- Brussels sprout (Brassica oleracea Gemmifera group)
- Cabbage (Brassica oleracea Capitata group)
- Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea Botrytis group)
- Catsear (Hypochaeris radicata)
- Celtuce (Lactuca sativa var. asparagina)
- Ceylon spinach (Basella alba)
- Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
- Chinese Mallow (Malva verticillata)
- Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium)
- Corn salad (Valerianella locusta)
- Cress (Lepidium sativum)
- Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
- Endive (Cichorium endivia)
- Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides)
- Fat hen (Chenopodium album)
- Fiddlehead (Pteridium aquilinum, Athyrium esculentum)
- Fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis)
- Golden samphire (Inula crithmoides)
- Good King Henry (Chenopodium bonus-henricus)
- Iceplant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum)
- Kuka (Adansonia spp.)
- Kale (Brassica oleracea Acephala group)
- Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis)
- Lagos bologi (Talinum fruticosum)
- Land cress (Barbarea verna)
- Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
- Lizard's tail (Houttuynia cordata)
- Melokhia (Corchorus olitorius, Corchorus capsularis)
- Mizuna greens (Brassica rapa var. nipposinica)
- Mustard (Sinapis alba)
- New Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides)
- Orache (Atriplex hortensis)
- Radicchio (Cichorium intybus)
- Rapini (Brassica rapa var. ruvo)
- Samphire (Crithmum maritimum)
- Salad rape (Brassica napus)
- Sea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima)
- Seakale (Crambe maritima)
- Sierra Leone bologi (Crassocephalum spp.)
- Soko (Celosia argentea)
- Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)
- Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)
- Summer purslane (Portulaca oleracea)
- Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla var. flavescens)
- Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)
- Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica)
- Winter purslane (Claytonia perfoliata)
Fruit and flower vegetables
The plants whose edible parts are the fruits and the flowers, they are
fruits or buds of flowers in reality but are used as vegetables. Vegetable
fruits are fleshy and contain seeds. They present great variety in
appearance, structure, and composition. They are
- Ackee (Blighia sapida)
- Armenian cucumber (Cucumis melo Flexuosus group)
- Avocado (Persea americana)
- Bitter melon (Momordica charantia)
- Breadfruit (Artocarpus attilis)
- Caigua (Cyclanthera pedata)
- Cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens)
- Chayote (Sechium edule)
- Chile pepper (Capsicum annuum Longum group)
- Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
- Eggplant or Aubergine (Solanum melongena)
- Globe Artichoke (Cynara scolymus)
- Luffa (Luffa acutangula, Luffa aegyptiaca)
- Malabar gourd (Cucurbita ficifolia)
- Marrow (Cucurbita pepo)
- Matoki (Musa sapientium)
- Olive (Olea europaea)
- Parwal (Trichosanthes dioica)
- Perennial cucumber (Coccinia grandis)
- Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita pepo)
- Snake gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina)
- Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum Grossum group)
- Tinda (Praecitrullus fistulosus)
- Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)
- Winter melon (Benincasa hispida)
- West Indian gherkin (Cucumis anguria)
- Zucchini or Courgette (Cucurbita pepo)
Root, Tuber and Bulb vegetables: The varieties included in this
class are closely related as to food value.
Bulbs are Usually grow just below the surface of the ground and
produce a fleshy, leafy shoot above ground. Bulbs usually consist of
layers or clustered segments. E.g. Onion, Garlic.
Tubers are vegetables which grow underground on the root of a
plant. E.g. Sweet potatoes, beets, radishes.
Roots are a long or round-shaped taproot.
- Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)
- Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus)
- Celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum)
- Celery (Apium graveolens)
- Elephant Garlic (Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum)
- Florence fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce)
- Garlic (Allium sativum)
- Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea Gongylodes group)
- Kurrat (Allium ampeloprasum var. kurrat)
- Leek (Allium porrum)
- Onion (Allium cepa)
- Prussian asparagus (Ornithogalum pyrenaicum)
- Rhubarb (Rheum x cultorum)
- Shallot (Allium cepa Aggregatum group)
- Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum)
- Beetroot (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris)
- Carrot (Daucus carota)
- Cassava (Manihot esculenta)
- Celeriac (Apium graveolens)
- Chinese artichoke (Stachys affinis)
- Ginger (Zingiber officinale)
- Potato (Solanum tuberosum)
- Radish (Raphanus sativus)
- Salsify (Scorzonera hispanica)
- Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)
- Taro (Colocasia spp.)
- Turnip (Brassica rapa Rapifera group)
- Yam (Dioscorea spp.)
Podded vegetables
They include all the varieties of beans, peas, and lentils. When these
foods are mature and dried, they have the highest food value of all the
vegetables.
- American groundnut (Apios americana)
- Asparagus pea (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)
- Azuki bean (Vigna angularis)
- Black-eyed pea (Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata)
- Broad bean (Vicia faba)
- Chickpea (Cicer arietinum)
- Drumstick (Moringa oleifera)
- Dolichos bean (Lablab purpureus)
- Fava bean (Vicia faba)
- French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
- Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba)
- Horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum)
- Indian pea (Lathyrus sativus)
- Lentil (Lens culinaris)
- Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus)
- Moth bean (Vigna acontifolia)
- Mung bean (Vigna radiata)
- Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)
- Pea (Pisum sativum)
- Peanut (Arachis hypogaea)
- Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan)
- Rice bean (Vigna umbellatta)
- Runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus)
- Soybean (Glycine max)
- Sweetcorn (Zea mays)
- Tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis)
- Tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius)
- Urd bean (Vigna mungo)
- Velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens)
- Yardlong bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis)
Seaweed vegetables
The Sea contains, in solution, every element necessary to maintain
healthy life. Therefore, Seaweed offers a wealth of essential nutrients
found in human blood serum including vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino
acids and fatty acids.
- Aonori (Monostroma spp., Enteromorpha spp.)
- Carola (Callophyllis variegata)
- Dabberlocks (Alaria esculenta)
- Dulse (Palmaria palmata)
- Hijiki (Hizikia fusiformis)
- Kombu (Laminaria japonica)
- Mozuku (Cladosiphon okamuranus)
- Nori (Porphyra spp.)
- Ogonori (Gracilaria spp.)
- Sea grape (Caulerpa spp.)
- Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca)
- Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida)
Fungi vegetables
When referring to vegetables, fungi are commonly known as mushrooms.
- Cultivated mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)
- Honey mushroom (Armillaria mellea)
- Boletus (Boletus spp.)
- Truffle (Tuber melanosporum)
- Morel (Morchella esculanta)
- Cantharelle (Cantharellus cibarius)
- Orange agaric (Lactarius deliciosus)
- Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)
- Shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes)
- Straw mushroom (Volvaria volvaria)
