Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans or animals as
food. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to true
, such as
and
tuberous root, as well as non-roots such as
,
,
, and
Stem tuber.
[ Potatoes are technically not roots, and sweet potatoes are a type of root called tuberous roots.]
Description
Root vegetables are generally energy
containing
such as
and
.
List of root vegetables
The following list classifies root vegetables organized by their roots' anatomy.
Modified plant stem
-
Corm
-
Amorphophallus konjac (konjac)
-
Colocasia esculenta (taro)
-
Eleocharis dulcis (Chinese water chestnut)
-
Ensete spp. (enset)
-
Nymphaea spp. (waterlily)
-
Pteridium esculentum
-
Sagittaria spp. (arrowhead or wapatoo)
-
Typha spp.
-
Xanthosoma spp. (malanga, cocoyam, tannia, yautia and other names)
-
Eddoe (eddoe or Japanese potato)
-
Bulb
-
Rhizome
-
Tuber
-
Apios americana (hog potato or groundnut)
-
Cyperus esculentus (tigernut or chufa)
-
Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke)
-
Hemerocallis spp. (daylily)
-
Lathyrus tuberosus (earthnut pea)
-
Oxalis tuberosa (oca or New Zealand yam)
-
Plectranthus edulis and P. esculentus (kembili, dazo, and others)
-
Solanum tuberosum (potato)
-
Stachys affinis (Chinese artichoke or crosne)
-
Tropaeolum tuberosum (mashua or añu)
-
Ullucus tuberosus (ulluku)
Root-like stem
-
Zamia integrifolia (Florida arrowroot)
True root
-
Taproot (some types may incorporate substantial hypocotyl tissue)
-
Tuberous root
-
Amorphophallus galbra (yellow lily yam)
-
Conopodium majus (pignut or earthnut)
-
Dioscorea spp. (yams, Purple yam)
-
Dioscorea polystachya (nagaimo, Chinese yam, Korean yam, mountain yam, white ñame)
-
Hornstedtia scottiana (native ginger)
-
Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato)
-
Ipomoea costata (desert yam)
-
Manihot esculenta (cassava or yuca or manioc)
-
Mirabilis expansa (mauka or chago)
-
Pediomelum esculentum (breadroot, tipsin, or prairie turnip)
-
Smallanthus sonchifolius (yacón)
Uses
Many root vegetables keep well in
, lasting several months. This is one way of
food storage for use long after
harvest, which is especially important in nontropical
, where
winter is traditionally a time of little to no harvesting. There are also
season extension methods that can extend the harvest throughout the winter, mostly through the use of
.
Starchy root vegetables are of particular economic importance as , especially in tropical regions. They overshadow throughout much of Central Africa and West Africa, as well as Oceania, in these areas being used directly or mashed to make foods such as fufu or poi.
External links
