Plants with multiple edible parts

Several plants have many edible plant parts, making them useful as both a vegetable (often the leaves, stems, flowers or flower heads) and a fruit or staple crop.

For a full list of edible plants see: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/data/compendium-botanicals

Examples

• chayote, grape, and some varieties of squash have leaves and shoots which are appetizing and healthy as vegetables
• Musk Mallow (Malva moschata): The leaves substitute for lettuce and the flowers and especially the sweet buds are also excellent. The seeds can be used like a grain, although they are tedious to harvest.
• Day lily: the young shoots can be cooked as a vegetable, the flower buds can be added to stir-fry, and the flowers chopped into salads or just eaten raw. The tubers can also be cooked like any other tuber.
• Amaranths have edible seeds and leaves, although most varieties concentrate on one or the other.

Note

Some plant parts such as fruits can be a vegetable when consumed before it is entirely ripened. For example papaya. Some seeds can have a different taste when raw as opposed to baked (ie pepper).