Cereals, Fruits, Nuts & Vegetables, TOD-ZUC
While some plants are renowned for their aesthetic beauty or for their usefulness in creating medicines and products such as dyes and soaps, many plants are equally celebrated for their tastiness. Edible plants, when eaten, provide humans and other animals with the nutrients needed to supply energy and support growth. This holds true even for plants that may initially sound less than appetizing to some, like wax gourds, prickly pears, and chokecherries. Look to this category for information on these and other veggies, fruits, legumes, nuts, and grains.
Cereals, Fruits, Nuts & Vegetables Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Today in History—April 10: The Day Bananas Debuted in London
On this spring day in 1633, people gathered outside a Holborn shop window in central London to stare at something......
Tomatillo
Tomatillo, (Physalis philadelphica), annual species of ground cherry of the nightshade family and its tart edible......
Tomato
Tomato, (Solanum lycopersicum), flowering plant of the nightshade family (Solanaceae), cultivated extensively for......
tossa jute
tossa jute, (Corchorus olitorius), annual herbaceous plant that is cultivated as a source of jute fiber and for......
turmeric
turmeric, (Curcuma longa), perennial herbaceous plant of the ginger family, the tuberous rhizomes (underground......
Turnip
Turnip, (Brassica rapa, variety rapa), hardy biennial plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae), cultivated for......
Vegetable
Vegetable, in the broadest sense, any kind of plant life or plant product, namely “vegetable matter”; in common,......
Walnut
Walnut, (genus Juglans), genus of about 20 species of deciduous trees of the family Juglandaceae, native to North......
wasabi
wasabi, (Eutrema japonicum), plant of the mustard family and a pungent paste made of its ground rhizomes. The plant......
Water chestnut
Water chestnut, any of several species of water plants that are cultivated for their edible parts. Water chestnuts......
watercress
watercress, (Nasturtium officinale), perennial aquatic plant of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia......
Watermelon
Watermelon, (Citrullus lanatus), succulent fruit and vinelike plant of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), native......
Wax gourd
Wax gourd, (Benincasa hispida), fleshy vine of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), grown for its edible fruits. The......
What Is the Difference Between a Grain and a Seed?
The word grain is usually used for the edible seeds of a cereal grass, such as rice, barley, or corn (maize). A......
What’s the Difference Between Jam, Jelly, and Preserves?
Before the invention of the at-home refrigerator in 1913, it was rare to find a strawberry in the winter or a gala......
What’s the Difference Between Sugar in Fruit and Sugar in Sweets and Candy?
Sugar in fruit and sugar in processed foods are not the same. Fruits contain sugars known as fructose and glucose.......
Wheat
Wheat, any of several species of cereal grasses of the genus Triticum (family Poaceae) and their edible grains.......
Why Do Bananas Turn Brown?
The life cycle of a banana is a colorful one—it starts with a deep green, changes to a delicious yellow, and ends......
Why Do People Eat Cereal with Milk?
According to what seems to have become a somewhat standardized history, the collision of milk and cereal dates......
Why do radishes taste spicy?
Crisp and refreshing, a radish can pack a little kick. If your palate is sensitive, you may perceive its similarities......
wild rice
wild rice, (genus Zizania), genus of four species of coarse grasses of the family Poaceae, the grain of which is......
Yam
Yam, any of several plant species of the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae) grown for their edible tubers.......
Zucchini
Zucchini, (Cucurbita pepo), variety of summer squash in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), grown for its edible......