Perennial vegetables are parts of plants that are prepared and eaten like a vegetable, and that are also perennial, in other words, the plants 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.
Perennial vegetables are an integral part of many cultural diets around the world, particularly in tropical agriculture. Perennial vegetables fell out of favor in most of Europe, and other western influenced cultures, once industrial agriculture gained a foothold. Some of the older temperate varieties include: seakale, skirret, sorrel, and Good King Henry.
These plants are an integral part of any successful forest garden, being incorporated into both the herbaceous layer (like a ground cover), or even low growing canopy layer (like overstory trees and shrubs).