Random Vegetable Generator: 100 Vegetables and the Part You Eat

One press gives a vegetable with the part you eat, its plant family and, where the USDA guide names one, its season.

Random Vegetable Generator: 100 Vegetables and the Part You Eat

  1. Pea
  2. Cassava
  3. Yam
  4. Turnip
  5. Artichoke
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Random Vegetable Generator: 100 Vegetables and the Part You Eat: how it works

The list holds 100 vegetables, from carrot and kale to kohlrabi, tomatillo and lotus root. Each card names the part you eat and the plant family, and 42 cards add the seasons from the USDA SNAP-Ed produce guide. Draw five, or pick a part or a season first.

Which part of the plant are you eating?

Schools teach six plant parts: root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit and seed. A potato is a stem, not a root. An onion is a bulb of swollen leaf bases. Broccoli and artichoke are flower buds. Anything with seeds inside, such as a cucumber or a green bean, is a fruit. In class, tap Hide all parts, draw 5 and sort them before showing the cards.

One wild cabbage, nine vegetables

Cabbage, kale, collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and gai lan are a single species, Brassica oleracea. Growers picked plants for bigger leaves and got kale, for side buds and got sprouts, for a wider stem and got kohlrabi. The Cabbage family chip draws from all 22 relatives.

Tips

  • Tasting challenge: set the count to 1, buy what comes up and cook it this week.
  • Gardeners rotate crops in groups, and the family on the card gives the group. The RHS plan puts turnips with the cabbages, not the roots.
  • For a still life, draw 3 and cut one open. Lotus root, bell pepper and okra each show a pattern inside.

Questions and answers

Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

Both. To a botanist it is a fruit, because it grows from the flower and holds the seeds. In the kitchen it is a vegetable, and the US Supreme Court agreed in Nix v. Hedden in 1893: for the tariff, tomatoes were vegetables in the common meaning of the word. So the 19 fruiting vegetables are here, not on the fruit page.

Why do some cards have no season?

This random vegetable generator takes every season from the USDA SNAP-Ed Seasonal Produce Guide, which names 42 of these 100 vegetables. Carrots, onions and celery are listed in all four seasons, leeks only in winter and asparagus only in spring. We did not guess for the other 58, so they drop out when you pick a season. Outside the US, use a local chart.

How many vegetables sit under each chip?

Of the 100 vegetables, the chips hold 20 roots and tubers, 22 from the cabbage family, 24 leafy greens, 19 fruiting vegetables, 9 from the onion family, 12 peas and beans, and 15 stems, shoots and flowers. That adds up to 121, because 21 vegetables sit under two chips: kale is a cabbage and a leafy green. Mushrooms and herbs are left out.

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All 100 vegetables

Roots and tubers 20

  • Beet We eat the swollen root, and the leaves too. Amaranth family. In season: summer, fall and winter.
  • Carrot We eat the taproot. Carrot family. In season all year.
  • Cassava We eat the starchy root, always cooked. Spurge family. Tapioca is made from it.
  • Celeriac We eat the knobbly swollen stem base of a celery plant. Carrot family.
  • Daikon We eat the long white root, a mild winter radish. Cabbage family.
  • Ginger We eat the rhizome, a stem that creeps underground. Ginger family. In season: fall.
  • Horseradish We eat the hot root, grated. Cabbage family.
  • Jicama We eat the crisp juicy root, usually raw. Pea family.
  • Lotus root We eat the rhizome, whose air tunnels show as holes in every slice. Lotus family.
  • Parsnip We eat the pale taproot, sweeter after a frost. Carrot family. In season: fall and winter.
  • Potato We eat the tuber, a swollen underground stem. Nightshade family. In season: fall and winter.
  • Radish We eat the peppery swollen root. Cabbage family. In season: spring and fall.
  • Rutabaga We eat the swollen yellow root. Cabbage family. In season: fall and winter.
  • Salsify We eat the long slim taproot, sometimes called oyster plant. Daisy family.
  • Sunchoke We eat the tuber of a sunflower, also sold as Jerusalem artichoke. Daisy family.
  • Sweet potato We eat the swollen storage root. Morning glory family. In season: fall and winter.
  • Taro We eat the corm, a swollen underground stem, always cooked. Arum family.
  • Turnip We eat the swollen root, and the leaves too. Cabbage family. In season: spring, fall and winter.
  • Water chestnut We eat the crunchy corm of a marsh plant. Sedge family, so it is not a nut.
  • Yam We eat the starchy tuber. Yam family. A true yam is not a sweet potato.

Cabbage family 17

  • Arugula We eat the peppery leaves. Cabbage family.
  • Bok choy We eat the white stalks and green leaves. Cabbage family, the same species as turnip.
  • Broccoli We eat the flower buds and the stalk. Cabbage family. In season: spring and fall.
  • Broccoli rabe We eat the leaves, stems and buds. Cabbage family, closer to turnip than to broccoli.
  • Broccolini We eat the long stems and small heads of a broccoli and gai lan cross. Cabbage family.
  • Brussels sprouts We eat the leafy buds that line the tall stalk. Cabbage family. In season: fall and winter.
  • Cabbage We eat the tight head of leaves. Cabbage family. In season: spring, fall and winter.
  • Cauliflower We eat the white head of packed flower buds. Cabbage family. In season: fall.
  • Collard greens We eat the broad flat leaves. Cabbage family. In season: spring, fall and winter.
  • Gai lan We eat the thick stems and leaves, also sold as Chinese broccoli. Cabbage family.
  • Kale We eat the loose leaves, which never form a head. Cabbage family. In season: spring, fall and winter.
  • Kohlrabi We eat the round swollen stem that sits above the soil. Cabbage family.
  • Mizuna We eat the feathery leaves, mild and peppery. Cabbage family.
  • Mustard greens We eat the sharp hot leaves. Cabbage family.
  • Napa cabbage We eat the long pale head of crinkled leaves, the cabbage in kimchi. Cabbage family.
  • Romanesco We eat the lime green head, whose buds grow in spirals. Cabbage family.
  • Watercress We eat the leaves and stems of a plant that grows in running water. Cabbage family.

Leafy greens 13

  • Belgian endive We eat the pale bud of a chicory root sprouted in the dark. Daisy family.
  • Dandelion greens We eat the young bitter leaves. Daisy family.
  • Endive We eat the bitter leaves. The curly kind is sold as frisée. Daisy family.
  • Lettuce We eat the leaves, mostly raw. Daisy family. In season: spring and fall.
  • Mâche We eat the small soft leaves, also sold as lamb's lettuce. Honeysuckle family.
  • Malabar spinach We eat the thick leaves of a climbing vine. Basella family, so not a true spinach.
  • New Zealand spinach We eat the fleshy leaves. Ice plant family, so not a true spinach.
  • Purslane We eat the thick juicy leaves and stems. Purslane family.
  • Radicchio We eat the red and white leaves of a chicory. Daisy family.
  • Sorrel We eat the lemony leaves. Buckwheat family, the same one as rhubarb.
  • Spinach We eat the leaves, raw or wilted. Amaranth family. In season: spring and fall.
  • Swiss chard We eat the leaves and bright stalks of a leafy beet. Amaranth family. In season: spring, fall and winter.
  • Water spinach We eat the hollow stems and leaves. Morning glory family, like the sweet potato.

Fruiting vegetables 19

  • Acorn squash We eat the ripe ribbed fruit of a winter squash. Gourd family. In season: fall and winter.
  • Avocado We eat the fruit, a berry with one big seed. Laurel family. In season: spring, summer and winter.
  • Bell pepper We eat the hollow fruit, which has no heat. Nightshade family. In season: summer and fall.
  • Bitter melon We eat the unripe warty fruit, which is very bitter. Gourd family.
  • Butternut squash We eat the ripe orange flesh of a winter squash. Gourd family. In season: fall and winter.
  • Chayote We eat the pale green fruit, shaped like a pear. Gourd family.
  • Chili pepper We eat the hot fruit, fresh or dried. Nightshade family.
  • Cucumber We eat the unripe fruit, mostly raw. Gourd family. In season: summer.
  • Eggplant We eat the glossy fruit, always cooked. Nightshade family. In season: summer.
  • Kabocha We eat the sweet flesh of a Japanese winter squash. Gourd family. In season: fall and winter.
  • Luffa We eat the young fruit. Gourd family. Left to dry, the ripe fruit becomes a bath sponge.
  • Okra We eat the unripe seed pod. Mallow family. In season: summer and fall.
  • Pumpkin We eat the ripe flesh and the seeds. Gourd family. In season: fall and winter.
  • Spaghetti squash We eat the ripe flesh, which pulls apart into strands. Gourd family. In season: fall and winter.
  • Sweet corn We eat the kernels, the grains of a giant grass. Grass family. In season: summer.
  • Tomatillo We eat the green fruit that grows inside a papery husk. Nightshade family. In season: summer.
  • Tomato We eat the fruit, a berry to a botanist. Nightshade family. In season: summer.
  • Yellow squash We eat the unripe fruit of a summer squash. Gourd family. In season: summer.
  • Zucchini We eat the unripe fruit, skin and all. Gourd family. In season: summer.

Onion family 9

  • Chives We eat the thin hollow leaves, snipped raw. Onion family.
  • Elephant garlic We eat the giant mild cloves. Onion family, closer to the leek than to garlic.
  • Garlic We eat the cloves that make up the bulb. Onion family. In season: spring, summer and fall.
  • Garlic chives We eat the flat leaves, which taste of garlic. Onion family.
  • Leek We eat the white shaft of tightly wrapped leaf bases. Onion family. In season: winter.
  • Onion We eat the bulb, made of swollen leaf bases. Onion family. In season all year.
  • Ramps We eat the leaves and bulb of a wild leek from eastern North America. Onion family.
  • Scallion We eat the hollow green leaves and the slim white base. Onion family.
  • Shallot We eat the small bulbs, which grow in clusters. Onion family.

Peas and beans 12

  • Black-eyed pea We eat the cream seeds with a black spot. Pea family, and a cowpea too.
  • Chickpea We eat the round beige seeds, the base of hummus. Pea family.
  • Edamame We eat the green unripe soybeans, popped from the pod. Pea family.
  • Fava bean We eat the large flat seeds, also called broad beans. Pea family.
  • Green bean We eat the whole unripe pod. Pea family. In season: summer and fall.
  • Lentil We eat the small seeds. Pea family. The glass lens is named after their shape.
  • Lima bean We eat the flat pale seeds. Pea family. In season: summer.
  • Mung bean sprouts We eat the whole sprouted seed, white shoot and all. Pea family.
  • Pea We eat the round green seeds from the pod. Pea family. In season: spring, summer and fall.
  • Snow pea We eat the flat pod whole, before the peas swell. Pea family.
  • Sugar snap pea We eat the plump crunchy pod whole. Pea family.
  • Yardlong bean We eat the very long slim pod. Pea family, a kind of cowpea.

Stems, shoots and flowers 10

  • Artichoke We eat the flower bud of a large thistle, picked before it opens. Daisy family.
  • Asparagus We eat the young shoots, cut soon after they break the soil. Asparagus family. In season: spring.
  • Bamboo shoots We eat the young shoots, cut as they break the soil. Grass family.
  • Cardoon We eat the leaf stalks of a close cousin of the artichoke. Daisy family.
  • Celery We eat the leaf stalks. Carrot family. In season all year.
  • Fennel We eat the white bulb of swollen leaf bases, which tastes of anise. Carrot family.
  • Hearts of palm We eat the tender core of a palm stem. Palm family.
  • Nopales We eat the flat pads of the prickly pear cactus, spines removed. Cactus family.
  • Rhubarb We eat only the sour leaf stalks. The leaves are not safe to eat. Buckwheat family. In season: spring.
  • Squash blossoms We eat the yellow flowers of squash plants. Gourd family.

How this list was compiled: We wrote this list of 100 vegetables ourselves: plants sold and cooked as vegetables, sorted by the part that is eaten and by plant family. Names and species were checked against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegetables, and each plant family follows from the genus named there. Seasons come from the USDA SNAP-Ed Seasonal Produce Guide, https://snaped.fna.usda.gov/resources/nutrition-education-materials/seasonal-produce-guide: a card names a season only when that guide lists the vegetable, which it does for 42 of the 100. The guide has one line for Summer Squash and one for Winter Squash, which we applied to yellow squash and to butternut, acorn, spaghetti squash and kabocha. It lists Sweet Potatoes & Yams together, because most yams in US shops are sweet potatoes, so the true yam carries no season here. The guide describes produce in US shops, and what is in season near you depends on your local weather. Mushrooms and herbs are in the guide but not in this list: a mushroom is a fungus and herbs are seasonings. Single facts were checked against Wikipedia: one species for cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, collards, kohlrabi, romanesco and gai lan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassica_oleracea); broccolini as a broccoli and gai lan cross (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broccolini); elephant garlic as a leek relative (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_garlic); celeriac as a swollen stem base (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celeriac); Belgian endive forced in the dark, radicchio as a chicory and endive as a separate species (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicory); mâche in the honeysuckle family (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerianella_locusta); luffa as vegetable and sponge (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffa). All checked 2026-09-18. None of the 100 is on the fruit page, which keeps to fruit eaten as fruit and leaves out tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and avocados. Wording is ours. Licence: own work