A List of Vegetables that
Flower and Bear "Fruit"

List of Vegetables that
Flower and Bear Fruit

  From the Tree   

Avocado: an oil-rich (from 3 to 30 percent!) veggie native to Mexico and Central America. Wonderful in salads, sandwiches, and dips, particularly when paired with acidic or spicy ingredients.

Breadfruit: has the texture and consistency of yams, sweet potatoes, and similar ground veggies; apparently, the core should Not be eaten but removed prior to cooking. Click here for a breadfruit doughnut recipe. (Who knew?!)

  From Plants   

Acorn squash: one of the more-common winter squashes in the Northern Hemisphere, it is also one of the easiest to prepare. All you really need to do is split it, scoop out the seeds, and then bake your squash with a little butter. If you want more variety, you may find the perfect recipe on this page. (Just so you know: quite a lot of carbs in this one.)

Armenian cucumber: a.k.a. snake cucumber, snake Melon, yard-long cucumber; tastes like a cuke and usually eaten with the skin on. My dad raised these once, and they were pretty good—if cucumbers are your thing.
Aubergine: think eggplant, a gorgeous and versatile purple veggie eaten both raw and cooked (often in Italian dishes). Although I'm not crazy about it myself, after reading about its health benefits, I may have to rethink my position.

Caigua: a spiky skinned vegetable (a cucumber substitute, so to speak) that also has some medicinal applications. Here's a nice description from a gardener in New Zealand.
Cape gooseberry: ground Cherry, husk Tomato, golden Berry; to me these seem to be on the cusp between veggie and fruit. Very tasty, though.
Capsicum:
Cayenne pepper:

Chayote squash: a highly liquid and rather bland light green veggie that can be eaten raw or cooked, it is considered a summer squash (although often available all year round). Click here for a chayote salad recipe that uses a mustard-sour cream dressing to liven up the taste.

Chili pepper: self-evident, right? You might enjoy this simple but tasty green-chili soup.
Courgette: another name for zucchini; see some ways to cook this versatile veggie.
Cucumber: a fairly common veggie in many countries, it adds nutrition, fluid, and fiber to the diet. Here's an easy cucumber soup.

Eggplant: (see aubergine)

Luffa: a squash, picked before maturity to eat as a vegetable...and is also sometimes used as a bath sponge. Because I've seen it only in its sponge "persona," I was startled to learn that it's actually edible at certain times.

Malabar gourd: sometimes called Asian pumpkin; rich in protein content and cooked as a vegetable when immature.

Parwal: sometimes called pointed gourd or green potato; used in soups, stews, and curries. You can find an intriguing recipe (with photos of the preparation steps here. Although I haven't tried it myself, it looks delicious.
Pattypan squash: the pretty little white summer squash with scalloped edges. Although I've never actually eaten one, they sure are cute to have around.
Pumpkin: beautiful to look at (and carve into faces) pumpkin is used in veggie dishes and also as an ingredient in luscious baked goods. (And just to show you what a mensch I am, here's James Beard's incredible pumpkin pie recipe.)

Snake gourd: a long, vine-grown fruit used as a vegetable and also for medicine. According to Wikipedia, also used for making didgeridoos(!)
Squash: a.k.a. marrow. Did you know that? I sure didn't.
Sweet corn: we do know this one, right?
Sweet pepper: see bell pepper; other varieties are pimiento, cachucha, European sweet, bull horn (thin, curved and green), cubanelle (long, tapered, yellow to red), and sweet banana pepper.

Tinda: also called Indian round gourd or apple gourd or Indian Baby Pumpkin; squash-like and grown for its immature fruit, which is eaten as a vegetable.

Tomatillo

Tomatillo: a.k.a. husk tomato; relative of the common tomato and indispensable ingredient of salsa verde. Tomato: a universal favorite, the red tomato we already know, right? Green tomatoes, however, can be very tasty fried in battered slices. Chopped and lightly sautéed in butter, they can also make an interesting side dish.

Winter melon: also called white gourd, ash gourd, or "fuzzy melon"; grown for its very large fruit, which when mature is eaten as a vegetable.
West Indian gherkin: similar to and also related to the cucumber.

Zucchini: great both as a raw and cooked veggie dish. Also makes a nutritious addition to certain baked goods. (Sometimes known as courgette.)

  Flowers or Flower Buds  

Artichoke: a formidable-looking but also tasty vegetable prized particularly for its heart. Although a little fiddly to eat, many find it delicious (raising my hand here).

Broccoli: see green and leafy vegetables.

Cauliflower: a close cousin of broccoli, although white instead of green and somewhat milder in flavor. Delicious raw (IMHO).

Edible flowers of all kinds: (click here to read more about these treasures.)

Squash blossoms: a truly incredible treat when stuffed with cheese (jarlsberg is great for this), rolled in a light batter, and then baked (my preference) or fried.