Perennial vegetable

{{Short description|Type of vegetable}}

{{ref improve|date=March 2013}}

Perennial vegetables are vegetables that can live for more than two years.

Some well known perennial vegetables from the temperate regions of the world include asparagus, artichoke and rhubarb. In the tropics, cassava and taro are grown as vegetables, and these plants can live many years. Some perennial plants are cultivated as annuals in order to minimise pest pressure (e.g., potato, Solanum tuberosum).

Perennial vegetables are an integral part of many cultural diets around the world, particularly in tropical agriculture. In contrast, temperate Eurasian cultures have relied on annual cereals (oats, barley, wheat) as dietary staples since antiquity. {{Cite book|title=A History of Business in Medieval Europe, 1200–1550|last=Hunt|first=Edwin S.|last2=Murray|first2=James|date=1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780511626005|location=Cambridge|doi = 10.1017/cbo9780511626005}} {{Cite book|title=Cities, Peasants and Food in Classical Antiquity|last=Garnsey|first=Peter|date=1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780511585395|location=Cambridge|doi = 10.1017/cbo9780511585395}} Some examples of older temperate varieties include: seakale, skirret, sorrel, and Good King Henry.