362 articles
Kaffir lime
Kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix DC.), also called makrut lime, Thai lime, or Mauritius papeda, is a thorny Southeast Asian citrus tree grown for aromatic double leaves used in Thai and other cuisines; its bumpy, bitter fruit yields essential oil rich in β-pinene and citronellal.
Kalamata olive
Kalamata olive (Kalamon/Καλαμών cultivar): Greek dual-purpose table olive from the Kalamata region, PDO-protected as Elia Kalamatas, typically brine-cured black and slit for marinades.
Kale
Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala), a non-heading leafy cruciferous vegetable, oldest Brassica variety; cool-season crop with cultivars like Lacinato and Winterbor, high vitamin K and glucosinolates, sensitive to boiling.
Key lime
Key lime (Citrus aurantifolia, Mexican or West Indian lime) is a small thorny citrus with small, seedy, highly acid fruit, named for the Florida Keys; Mexico is now the main producer and the fruit flavors Key lime pie.
Kidney bean
Kidney bean, a kidney-shaped market class of Phaseolus vulgaris (rajmash in India), domesticated twice in the Americas; raw beans are toxic from phytohaemagglutinin and require boiling, while cooked beans supply protein and fiber.
Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes), German turnip, is a cabbage-family vegetable grown for its swollen above-ground stem; harvested at 2-3 inches, stores 2-3 months at 0 °C, rich in vitamin C.
Lantana
Lantana is a genus of flowering shrubs in the verbena family, native to tropical America and Africa and grown worldwide for clusters of small, brightly colored flowers.
Lapins cherry
Lapins cherry, a self-fertile sweet cherry cultivar (Van x Stella) bred by Karlis Lapins at Summerland, BC, released 1984; large dark red firm fruit ripening 10-14 days after Bing, crack-resistant but pitting- and heat-susceptible.
Leaf vegetable
Leaf vegetable (leafy green): crop grown for edible leaves, e.g. lettuce, spinach, cabbage, kale. Highly perishable (0 °C storage), nitrate-accumulating, and regulated for raw-eating safety such as Australia's Standard 4.2.8 (2025).
Lemon
Lemon (Citrus × limon), a citron-sour orange hybrid citrus fruit from the Himalayan foothills; major varieties Eureka, Lisbon, Femminello, Verna, Meyer; top producers India, Argentina, Spain, Iran, US.
Lemon basil
Lemon basil (Ocimum × africanum, syn. O. × citriodorum; kemangi, hoary or Lao basil) is a citral-scented hybrid herb of O. americanum and O. basilicum, native to tropical Asia, used in Thai and Lao cuisine.
Lilium 'Stargazer'
The Stargazer lily (Lilium 'Stargazer') is an Oriental hybrid lily bred by Leslie Woodriff in California in 1974, the first Oriental lily with upward-facing crimson, pink-edged flowers.
Lima bean
Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.), also called butter bean or Pallar, a Phaseolus legume domesticated separately in the Andes and Mesoamerica, heat- and drought-tolerant, with cyanogenic glucosides in seeds.
Lime (fruit)
Lime (fruit): acidic green citrus from several Citrus species, chiefly key lime (Citrus aurantifolia, citron × C. micrantha hybrid) and seedless triploid Persian lime (C. latifolia); 15 Mt lime-and-lemon production, U.S. supply ~97% from Mexico.
List of apple cultivars (A–K)
List of apple cultivars (A–K): named grafted varieties of Malus domestica from Akane, Braeburn, Cortland, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Jazz to Koutaro, with origins, parentage, harvest timing, and club-variety status.
List of banana cultivars
Banana cultivars are the roughly 1,000 named edible varieties of the genus Musa, classified by genome groups including the Cavendish dessert and plantain cooking bananas.
List of Capsicum cultivars
List of Capsicum cultivars: named pepper varieties across the five domesticated Capsicum species (annuum, chinense, frutescens, baccatum, pubescens), covering bell, hot, ornamental, and disease-resistant cultivars such as California Wonder, Paladin, and Nitro S10.
List of culinary fruits
Culinary fruits: sweet or acidic edible plant products, distinct from botanical fruits. Includes tropical fruits (banana, mango, papaya), temperate fruits (apple, peach, cherry), berries, and grapes; earliest domesticated were olive, grape, date, fig.
List of grape varieties
List of grape varieties: catalogs of cultivated Vitis grapes for wine, table, and dried use; over 10,000 varieties exist, led by Kyoho, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sultanina, Merlot, and Tempranillo by planted area.
List of Hibiscus cultivars
List of Hibiscus cultivars: named tropical (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), hardy herbaceous (H. moscheutos hybrids), and rose of Sharon (H. syriacus) cultivars, including AGM winners, Chicago Botanic Garden trial ratings, and Flower Tower and Chiffon series.
List of mango cultivars
Mango cultivars, named propagated varieties of Mangifera indica selected for fruit color, flavor, and disease resistance, number over 1,000 worldwide, including Alphonso, Tommy Atkins, and Haden.
List of Nepenthes natural hybrids
Nepenthes natural hybrids (nothospecies) such as N. ×hookeriana, ×trusmadiensis, and ×trichocarpa: wild crosses of tropical pitcher plants, their parentage, naming, molecular confirmation, and ecology.
Loquat
Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica; pipa 枇杷, biwa) is a Chinese-origin evergreen Rosaceae tree with winter flowers and spring yellow pomes; non-climacteric fruit, cold-sensitive bloom, grown in over 30 countries.
Luffa
Luffa (loofah, 丝瓜; Luffa aegyptiaca, L. acutangula) is a Cucurbitaceae vine genus grown for edible immature fruit and for dried fibrous sponges; tropical Asian origin, eight species, trellised warm-season crop.
Lupin bean
Lupin bean (lupini), seed of Lupinus crop species, a Mediterranean and Andean legume food. Bitter quinolizidine alkaloids require debittering; sweet low-alkaloid cultivars exist; cross-reacts with peanut allergy.
Lychee cultivars
Lychee cultivars are named, clonally propagated varieties of the lychee tree of southern China, led by Feizixiao, Nuomici, and Guiwei in China and by Mauritius and Brewster in Florida, South Africa, and Australia.
Macrotyloma uniflorum
Macrotyloma uniflorum (horse gram; kollu, kulthi) is a drought-tolerant Fabaceae pulse native to India and Africa, domesticated twice in ancient India, grown mainly in South India for food, forage, and medicine.
Magnolia × soulangeana
Magnolia × soulangeana (saucer magnolia), hybrid of M. denudata × M. liliiflora raised at Fromont, France, c. 1820 by Soulange-Bodin; deciduous 15–33 ft tree with pink-purple cup-and-saucer spring flowers, zones 4–9, frost-vulnerable bloom, 50+ cultivars.
Malpighia emarginata
Malpighia emarginata (acerola, Barbados cherry), a Malpighiaceae shrub native from Mexico to northern Colombia, grown for fruit with 1,000–3,500 mg vitamin C per 100 g pulp; Brazil is the largest producer.
Mandarin orange
The mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata) is a small citrus tree native to South China, domesticated there for four millennia, whose loose-peeled fruit includes clementines, satsumas, and tangerines.