(Celeriac)

Little known in the United States, celeriac is grown for its rather homely edible rootstock. The cultivar 'Brilliant' has relatively smooth, medium-large, buff-colored "roots," with firm white flesh. Thought to have originated in northern Europe, celeriac is a variety of celery (Apium graveolens), a widely cultivated biennial native to Europe, Southwest Asia, and North Africa. This vegetable is also known as celery root or knob celery.

Protruding from the soil like a knobby,...

(Celery, Tall Utah Celery)

The heirloom celery cultivar ‘Tall Utah’ was first introduced in 1953. It produces long medium green stalks that are crisp, stringless and flavorful.

Grown for its yummy crisp fleshy leaf stems (petioles) and fragrant seeds, celery originates from Europe, northern Africa, India and Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and is a staple herb in many dishes across the world. In the United States it flavors our Thanksgiving stuffing, is the favorite compliment to buffalo wings and every...

(Celeriac)

Little known in the United States, celeriac is grown for its rather homely, bulbous, edible stem and roots. Thought to have originated in northern Europe, it is a variety of celery (Apium graveolens), a widely cultivated biennial native to Europe, Southwest Asia, and North Africa. Celeriac is also known as celery root or knob celery.

Protruding from the soil like a knobby, partially buried baseball, the edible "root" gives rise to long fleshy stalks bearing deep green, incised,...

(Peanut)

The unusual and economically important peanut is a bushy or spreading tropical plant that may be grown as an annual or short-lived perennial crop. Technically a member of the bean family (Fabaceae), the peanut's origins stem from South America (Bolivia, Peru and adjoining countries) where they were grown and eaten by indigenous peoples. They have since become essential to life and cuisine in countries worldwide including Africa, Asia, The Pacific Islands and North America. Peanuts were introduced...

(Aralia)

An immense herbaceous perennial that forms lusty luxuriant clumps of elegant foliage, this East Asian native is grown not only for ornament but also for its edible young shoots. The large airy pinnate (feather-shaped) leaves are held on tall stems, which in some forms are a striking dark purple. Clouds of small greenish white flowers hover above the foliage in late summer, followed by showy purple berry-like fruit.

Intolerant of drought and hot sun, this gargantuan perennial does best in partial...

(Cyprian Strawberry Tree, Eastern Strawberry Tree, Greek Strawberry Tree)

This large shrub or small tree is grown for its colorful bark, handsome evergreen foliage, white spring flowers, and orange-red fruits. Mature specimens have picturesque, gnarled branches and a vase-shaped to rounded habit. Arubutus andrachne is native to rocky slopes and outcroppings from southeastern Europe to northern Iraq.

The lustrous, leathery, oval leaves of Greek strawberry tree are dark green with pale green undersides. They are borne on sinuous, upright to spreading branches...

(Lady's Leg, Manzanita, Texas Madrone)

This picturesque small tree is grown for its early blooms, colorful bark and berries, and handsome evergreen foliage. It is native to rocky slopes and ledges from southern Texas and New Mexico to Guatemala.

The leathery oval leaves of Texas madrone are bluish- to olive-green with paler undersides. Erect clusters of small, urn-shaped, creamy-white to pinkish flowers open at the branch tips from late winter to early spring. Bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators visit the blooms. Round, warty...

(Horseradish)

This hardy, coarse, deep-rooted perennial is the source of horseradish, the familiar, fiery condiment. It grows as a clump of large, toothed, puckered, dark-green leaves on long stems arising from a fleshy root that divides vigorously into offshoots and sends out tunneling stems to start new plants with such vigor that one plant soon becomes many. Unless dug out regularly, the new plants can become invasive pests. Even a tiny fragment of root left in the ground will grow a new plant.

From late...

(Purple Chokeberry)

Dainty white flowers dot this shrub's foliage in late spring, followed by astringent deep purple berries in summer and red fall foliage. The purple chokeberry is a thicket-forming upright deciduous shrub from the eastern United States, regarded as a naturally-occurring hybrid between the red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) and black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa).

The foliage is green, becoming deep green with a hint of gray because of the sparse hairs on the undersides of...

(French Tarragon)

The fragrant leaves of tarragon lend herbal sweetness to vegetables, salads and meats. Native from Europe to western North America, it is a clump-forming, shrubby perennial herb that's sun-loving and quite easy to grow. It is related to wormwood and absinthe and a member of the sunflower family, Asteraceae.

The aromatic, green, strap-like leaves of tarragon appear in spring, when they are at their sweetest. In summer insignificant clusters of yellowish white flowers may be produced. Stems of...