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Permaculture plants for temperate to subtropical sites
Edible flowers
Hollyhocks Sunflower Magnolia
artichokes Elderflowers Bluebells
calendulas Cornflowers Hibiscus
pelagoniums Garland Nasturtiums
(also useful Chrysanthemums Flowers and
leaves) leaves
Citrus flowers Borage Amaranthus
Violets Fushia Gladioli
Sweetners Useful Plants Antiseptic Tea
Sugarcane Flax Tea tree Lemon Scented tea tree
violets Orris Root (Melalueca (Leptospermum
alternifolia) Petersonii)
Lemon grass
Sweet fennel (dulcis
var.)
Alpine strawberry
leaves
Chamomile
Chicken feed and medicine
Mainly protein
(snails and
insects) for
healthy diet
Pigeon Pea wormwood
Accacia pumpkin
longifolia
clover seed cleavers
grasses and dandelion
weeds
melon and garlic
ramblers -after
harvest
sunflowers fennel
Evening primrose
seeds
Edible Groundcovers Useful
groundcovers
pennyroyal Yarrow
strawberries Chamomile
New Zealand Spinach
mint
woodruff (flavouring)
prostrate grevillia
(nectar for cordial)
Marjoram
Shrubs, tall grasses Vines
Blueberries varieties of grape
arrowroot (Cannas passionfruit (sweet and
edulis) banana)
taro Beans, Peas
raspberries Kiwifruit (1 Male 2 female)
Monstera Basella
spinach
Milo (type of Sorghum)
Popping Sorghum
wormwood
perenial Capsicum
Bush Tomatoes
Sage
Oregano
SugarCane
Edible Trees Inexpensive edible plants
Blue Lilly pilly (soft Pigeon Pea - soil conditioner
edible fruit) Indigenous, and edible pods
windbreak, birds.
Mulberry alba and nigra -
choose different varieties
Moreton Bay fig, Sandpaper Banana - fruits
fig
Bunya pine Monstera Deliociosa- fruits
Chestnut Avocado - grow from seed
easily
Walnut Lemon - grow from seed
Chinotto Orange Native or introducd Hibiscus
(flowers) - seed or cutting
Mango Olives - cutting or seed
Macadamia Illawarra Plum
Mountain Paw Paw - Damson
BabacoPistachio
Hazelnut
Almond
Pecan (need male and female)
Pear
Rambutan
Grapefruit
Native Guava
Persimmon
Valencia Orange
Cherry
Feijoa
Ice Cream Bean
Apple Smaller harvest from these below-
Arbutus unedo - Irish suitable for large sites - increases diversity
strawberry tree
Seville orange
Jak fruit Japanese Raisan Tree
Linden Gingko
Lemonade Italian Pine
Medlar Stone Pine
Natal Cherry Date Palm
Nashi Wine Palm
Lychee Walking stick Palm
Madarin Cabbage Tree Palm
(indigenous)
Pomelo Wild Date Palm (also
windbreak)
Carob Silver Birch (edible syrup)
Pomegrantes Sugar Maple
Magnolia (edible flowers)
windbreak
Fruit Fly prone trees [Must be
planted within chicken forage
areas]
Quince
Plum
custard Apple
Paw Paw - papaya
apricot
Peach
Loquat
Nectarine
Useful Trees
(all indigenous species
support beneficial
micro-organisms)
All trees part of wind
channelling toward
windmill and away from
housing
Illawarra Flame (indigenous)
flowers, birds, native bees,
mulch, windbreak, deep
rooted.
Red Cedar (Toona Australis)
Rare indigenous tree, suited
to wetter zone, deciduous,
good windbreak. Plant only
one by itself.
Small grevillia, steep
flowers for cordial, bird
attractant and other Natural
insect predators.
Banksia
Cauarina - nitrogen fixing
Lemon Scented tea tree -tea,
antiseptic, bee forage
Grevillia robusta - timber
and bee and edible nectar
Elm - 2 varieties or more
Boobialla (soft edible
fruit) bird attractant,
bushy, windbreak and screen
Acacia longifolia (edible seed) leaves for chicken and stock, soil conditioner, windbreak.
Acacia acuminata (seed)
A. Coriacea (seed)
A. Holosericea (seed)
A. Kempeana (seed and witchety grub)
A. Notabilis (seed)
A. Oswaldi (seed)
A. Retinodes (seed)
A. Victoriae (seed)
A. Aneura (seed and edible Galls)
Acacia main winter forage for bees, good pioneer species, soil conditioning and kindling for wood fire Blueberry Ash (indigenous).
Pine leaf Gebung (winter bee forage)
Some Water-Loving Vegetables
Taro Throughout the wet Even the selected Leaves can be
Colocasia tropics this is a cultivated forms can eaten, they are
esculenta (L) very important contain calcium commonly used in
Schott root vegetable. oxalate crystals. soups, In Hawaii
(Araceae) Ancient rice So cooking 'must' be the young shoots
Dasheen. terraces may have thorough enough to are blanched
origianated from destroy these. before cooking.
taro cultivation, Plants are grown
both need the same easily in very warm
conditions. and wet conditions,
Especially they look lovely
submerged and very with their bold
warm in summer, leaves next to a
they are tolerant pool. Propagation is
of drought but not by planting the side
of the frost tubers or by cutting
during the winter. off the top of
Tubers are existing tuber with
similiar to to the its shoots, plant
potato but are that.
normally alot more
slimy.
Giant Tuber This requires Main tubers are Both the leaves
and related similiar left in the ground. and the side
tubers conditions to the Also edible is tubers are
Alocasia Taro. But in look Amorphophallus edible, can taste
macrorrhiza has larger with campanulatus var. like a coarse
(L.) Schott stiffer more Better known as the nutty potato.
(Araceae) upright leaves. "Elephant foot
Giant Swamp Taro yarn".
(Cyrtosperma
chamissonis )
schott Merr; is
from Indonesia the
tubers take years
to grow and can
reach a large
size. Tannia or
the yautia covers
several species.
Leaves of tannia
are pointed
sharply, sagittate
near the base in
contrast to the
rounded peltate
leaves of the
taro.
Wasabi From this plant is Thick creeping It must be both
Wasbia made the sap green rhizome 1-2cm freshly grated
japoncia pungent paste that across, it has long and grated
(Miq) Matsum forms the base for stalked kidney rather finely,
syn. Eutrema sushi when mixed shaped tooth leaves, this goes really
japonica soy. Wasabi is a a few leafed well with raw
(Miq) Kodiz perennial closley flowering stems to fish eg. Tuna.
(Cruciferae) related to the 40cm tall . Flowers
Cadamine and are white in a loose
watercress. head This plant is
similiar in
appearence to the
Pachyphragma, but
has cylindrical not
flat fruits. The
rhizome is what is
used to make the
paste, it has the
taste similiar to
horseradish.
Houttuynia Houttuynia is a Leaves and young Three forms of
Houttuynia creeping shoots are picked in Houttuynia are
cordata perennial, common early spring when grown in gardens
Thunb. mostly in damp they are about 8cm in Europe as
(Saururaceae) woodland in most long and are eaten ornamentals these
of temperate raw in Salads or are the wild,
eastern Asia. It they are cooked single form, a
belongs to the similiar to spinach. form with double
small and flowers and a
primative family form with
Saururaceae, which beautifully
contains only 3 marked leaves
genera and 4 with variegated
species markings of red
and white. All
easily grown in
moist soils,
partial shade and
will creep to
form loose mats
of heart shaped
leaves.
Seakale Long lived Easily grown, seed Plants blanched
Crambe perrenial it is can be sown in in early spring,
maritima L. particularly an spring. Well Feb, Mar in south
Chou Marin English vegetable. drained, very deep England. 2 or 3
(French) Grows wild on the and in sandy soil, cuts can be taken
shingle on the the young plants off each plant.
shores of the grown on through Ideally the shoot
Black, Baltic and there 1st year. Any is about 20cm
Atlantic Seas. that have been long, then later
Rather rare forced after their allow to grow in
elsewhere. During 1st year are more full light,
summer the leaves likely to be rather fertilised well
form conspicious small, but usually to encourage good
mounds of by the end of the growth for next
grey-green, in 2nd year the plants season. Seaweed
winter dies away should have reached fertiliser would
completely, this full size. Two be best used for
is in comparison main methods of a summer feed.
to the wild cultivation. Plants Apply salt to
cabbage that stays grown in a permanent control any
green all winter. bed and blanched ( slugs. Your beds
Giant in situ) with need to be
inflorescences of seakale forcing replanted about
"Crambe pots, frame covered every 5 years
Cordifolia" would in heavy black with young
make a fine polythene or 30cm of plants. Another
perrenial if peat, sand or even idea is the
blanched and leafmould. Bed to plants to be
tender thus be be 1.5m wide & grown as annuals
suitable for raised if soil is in a row and
growing in cold heavy and be stony forced indoors
continental with rich soil. Top round Decemeber.
climates 15cm or so to be Young plants dug
composed sand & up in Autumn once
gravel. Young the leaves have
plants can be grown died down, The
from root roots carefully
cuttings these are trimmed to about
planted in the 10-15cm long
spring about 75 cm anty pieces cut
apart then grown off or side roots
throughout the can be used as
summer. Place any next years
cuttings into a cuttings. Ensure
large pot of that the upper
dampsand or plant ends of all roots
in bundles in warm point in the one
corner of your direction. It is
garden, have ready from here the new
to be lined out 30cm shoot arises.
apart in the early
spring. The main
part of the thick
root with the
pointed bud on top
is then blanched as
needed in warm
cupboard or in a pot
of damp peat or
sand, keep in the
dark
Sea Asparagus Marsh samphire and Used in glass Boil young
Salicornia glasswort are making, hence name branches until
europaea another common Glasswort. It turns soft, remove
L. names of this wild red in Autumn and salty cooking
Chenopodisceae vegetable of looks like a seaweed water. Eat as
Europe and Asia. standing upright in asparagus.
mud.
Sacred Lotus Native of still Rhizomes pickled
Nelumbo water from Iran or cooked with
nucifera towards China, other vegetables.
Gaertn. Japan and Young leaves
(Nymphaeacae) northeastern eaten raw or
Lin Ngau Australia. cooked. Use to
(rhizome), Commonly eaten in cook foods in.
Lin Tze China and Japan. (Like vine and
(seed) banana leaves).
Chinese Seedpods can be
roasted and eaten
like nuts. Remove
the bitter green
embryo called a
plumule.
Nelumbo lutea,
native to North
America, has
edible seeds and
tubers.
Bamboo shoots All species of earth up base of
Dendrocalamus bamboo produce plants in winter
and edible shoots with mud and
Phyllostachys manure. The
sp. young shoots cut
in spring as they
emerge they are
piled up with
soil, then
harvested when
about 15cm long.
Water Trapa is closely Trapa is mainly
chestnut related Oenothera. grown today in
Trapa natans Eleocharis dulcis China, it floats on
L. is the name of water. It can grow
(Trapaceae) another vegetable quickly and form
Ling Kok called Water weedy mats on the
chestnut . They water, the seeds
both come from must be boiled for
Southern Europe at least an hour
and east China. before eating .
Hardy.
Eleocaris dulcis is
reed like with tasty
corms and is to
grown in small tubs.
Life in Winter when
the shoots die back.
Corms can be eaten
raw like nuts or
sliced for crunchy
addition to
stir-fry.
Camas Lilies Native to the Camas seed are quite Edible portion of
(Camassia north-western big. Plant in the the Camas Lily is
Quamash var. United States,it spring, be careful the
maxima) is one of the that heavy rain bulb.Traditionally
staple foods of doesn't dislodge. cooked in pits
the local indian Shoots are very you can use the
tribes. Grows fragile, snails tend oven. Eaten
approx. Half to love them. cold, hot or even
metre high, has Keep weed free till dried.
blue or white the seedlings are
flowers. Edible taller than the
portion of this weeds.. The Camas
lily is the bulb. will shrivel if it
has not enough
sunlight. Harvest
late Autumn or early
winter. New bulbs
are sweeter and not
as fibrous as older
ones.
Watercress Low Groundcover grows indoors or Eat as salad
(Nasturtium out, does well in green or cooked
officinale) cold water has a vegetable.
thick net of roots.
Cranberry Tall bush berry. Some
(Viburnum viburnum sp. have
trilobum or toxic seed.
V.
americanum)
Nut sedge Known as noxious grows in compacted Large edible
(e.g. Cyperus weed in some and eroded wet tubers
esculentus) areas, choose areas.
indigenous variety
Water Looks like a short needs fairly long Taste nutty. Eat
chestnut sedge, spikes growing season may raw or stir-fry.
(Eleocharis sticking out of need to be lifted in Commercial crops
dulcis) bog with corms winter - there is an are canned for
below association for sale overseas -
growing Water market good.
chestnuts in
Australia.
Mint (Mentha) low-medium height Medicinal,
ground cover, culinary and
aromatic and can cosmetic uses.
be invasive in
ideal conditions
Elderberry Medium height Used for wine,
(Sambucus strappy bush. No berries cooked in
canadensis) thorns. chutneys and
pies.
High bush plant used as Roots can survive Established
Blueberry wetland indicator, year-round market, freezes
(Vaccinium submersion according without any
corymbosum) to [Montgomery PA*, treatment
1995] many fine (blanching etc.)
roots, useful for
wetland restoration.
Craneberry quite tolerant of Good cash crop in
(Vaccinium acidic conditions. Americas where it
macrocarpon) [Montgomery PA*, is indigenous,
1995] less known in
Australia.
Wild Rice Dark-grain rice, prefers moving Gourmet delicacy,
(Zizania 20-25cm tall. water, can tolerate high commercial
aquatica) Seed sometimes high mineral levels crop.
falls before in water and prefers
harvesting, soft alluvial soils.
[Romanovski 1995] [Montgomery PA*,
can become 1995]
invasive, look for
semi-domesticated
varieties that
hold seed-head.
Black and Red Native to Americas high value fruit
Chokeberry
(Aronia
melanocarpa
and Aronia
butefolia)
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