34 Unique Edibles for Foodies

Transform your garden and kitchen like never before!

If you’re passionate about growing and savouring your harvest, you’re in for a treat. Join us on a journey through some of our most fascinating, unusual, and unique edible plants. We hope you uncover some exciting additions to your garden and kitchen!

A Hibiscus relative with edible leaves and flowers
Abelmoschus manihot ‘Chief Kubo’s Prize’ – South Sea Salad Bele Tree
Abelmoschus manihot ‘Chief Kubo’s Prize’ has deeply cut palmate leaves and hibiscus-like, light yellow flowers. Both are edible.

A red kiwi fruit with red skin and red flesh
Actinidia arguta ‘Hardy Red’ – Hardy Kiwi
Actinidia arguta ‘Hardy Red’ has amazing cranberry-red kiwi fruit, red flesh, and great flavour.

A red kiwi fruit with purple-red skin and red flesh
Actinidia arguta ‘Ken’s Red’ – Hardy Kiwi
Actinidia arguta ‘Ken’s Red’ is a prolific producer with large fruit with purple-red skin and sweet red flesh.

A kiwi fruit with sweet and spicy flesh
Actinidia polygama ‘Hot Pepper’ – Female Silver Vine (Kiwi)
Actinidia polygama ‘Hot Pepper’ has orange-yellow fruit with a sweet and spicy flavour with green and silver foliage.

A dwarf papaya that can be a houseplant
Carica papaya ‘T.R. Hovey’ – Dwarf Papaya
Carica ‘T.R. Hovey’ is a dwarf, self-fertile papaya that can produce delicious, ripe fruit within 9-12 months!

A citrus filled with caviar for sprinkling on top of dishes
Citrus-AustralianFingerLime australasica – Australian Finger Lime
Citrus (formerly Microcitrus) australasica, the Australian finger lime, is a lime relative from Australia and a top citrus for foodies.

A citrus with fingers
Citrus-Citron medica var. sarcodactylis – Buddha’s Hand Lemon
Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis is a unique citron called the Buddha’s hand lemon which bears striking, bright yellow fruit with fingers.

The citrus every foodie should know but doesn’t yet
Citrus-Lime sudachi – Sudachi
Citrus x sudachi has a unique, spicy juice used to flavour soups, sauces (including ponzu), fish dishes, ice cream, and other desserts.

Every foodie’s favourite citrus, the yuzu
Citrus-Lime junos ‘Yuzu’ – Yuzu
Citrus junos ‘Yuzu’ is prized in Japan as a flavouring for sauces and desserts and to make marmalades and preserves.

A pink-fleshed variegated lemon
Citrus-Lemon limon ‘Variegated Pink Eureka’ – Pink Lemon
Citrus limon ‘Variegated Pink Eureka’ combines attractive variegated foliage and variegated fruit. Inside the fruit has pink flesh.

A black persimmon
Diospyros kaki ‘Black’ Raven – Persimmon
Diospyros kaki ‘Black’ Raven is a distinctive persimmon from China with unusual glossy-black fruit that is sweet and delicious.

Dramatic foliage and tasty fruit
Eriobotrya japonica – Loquat
Loquats (Eriobotrya japonica) are small, handsome subtropical trees with leathery, dark green leaves and delicious, deep yellow fruit.

Edible flowers that taste like cotton candy and become tropical fruits with a hint of mint
Feijoa sellowiana ‘Kakariki’ – Pineapple Guava
Feijoa sellowiana ‘Kakariki’ is an extremely early-ripening pineapple guava with large, sweet, and delicious fruit with a thin edible skin.

A dwarf fig you can grow in a pot on a patio or balcony and overwinter as a houseplant
Ficus carica ‘Fignomenal’ – Common Fig
Ficus carica ‘Fignomenal’ is a dwarf fig tree that produces medium-sized brown fruit with pink interiors.

A vitamin C and antioxidant-packed honeysuckle for zone 2
Lonicera caerulea ‘Blue Moon’ (Late Blooming) – Honeyberry
Lonicera caerulea ‘Blue Moon’ is a late-blooming honeyberry or haskap with large, dark blue, tasty fruit.

A superfood packed with vitamins, minerals, & antioxidants
Lycium barbarum ‘Dynamite’ – Goji Berry
Lycium barbarum ‘Dynamite’ also known as the goji berry is touted as a superfood packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

A tree that produces fruit that look and taste like blackberries except this one is white
Morus alba Nikita White – White Mulberry
Morus nigra Nikita White is a unique mulberry with large, sweet, juicy, white fruit that is early-ripening.

Another white mulberry – why have one when you can have two?
Morus Persian White – White Mulberry
Morus Persian White is a unique mulberry with sweet, juicy, white fruit.

A dwarf house plant banana that produces fruit
Musa acuminata ‘Dwarf Cavendish’ – Banana
Musa acuminata ‘Dwarf Cavendish’ is a fruit-bearing banana with red cone-shaped flowers and broad foliage. Highly ornamental.

Another dwarf house plant banana that produces fruit
Musa acuminata ‘Truly Tiny’ – Banana
Musa acuminata ‘Truly Tiny’ is a miniature fruit-bearing banana tree with red cone-shaped flowers and broad foliage. Also highly ornamental.

Exquisite tropical flowers that produce tasty exotic fruit except the plants are hardy to zone 5
Passiflora incarnata ‘Pinkpop’ – Maypop
The hardiest of all passion flowers, Passiflora incarnata ‘Pink Pop’ has ornate lavender-pink flowers and tasty fruit.

An avocado that barely needs winter protection
Persea americana ‘Stewart’ – Avocado
Persea americana ‘Stewart’ is one of the most cold-tolerant avocado varieties, producing delicious fruit with a rich, nutty flavor.

A juicy hybrid blackberry with amazing flavour
Rubus ‘Marion’ – Marionberry
Rubus ‘Marion’ is a hybrid blackberry called a marionberry. It is often referred to as the ‘Cabernet of blackberries’ with delicious dark red to black fruit.

Huge double-sized super tasty blackberries
Rubus ursinus x idaeus – Boysenberry
Rubus ursinus x idaeus is known as boysenberry. It’s a hybrid of a blackberry and a raspberry. It has super tasty, elongated, blackberry-like fruit.

A ground cover that produces raspberries
Rubus arcticus subsp. x stellarcticus ‘Anna’ – Nagoonberry
Rubus arcticus subsp. x stellarcticus ‘Anna’ is an extremely hardy plant in the raspberry family with pink blooms and red fruit in July.

Another ground cover that produces raspberries
Rubus arcticus subsp. x stellarcticus ‘Valentina’ – Nagoonberry
Rubus arcticus subsp. x stellarcticus ‘Valentine’ has attractive flowers, tasty fruit, beautiful fall colour, and great hardiness.

An epiphytic cactus with the sweetest of all dragonfruit in yellow and white
Selenicereus megalanthus – Yellow Dragon Fruit
Selenicereus megalanthus is the vining cactus that produces yellow dragon fruit from its night-blooming flowers.

An epiphytic cactus with gorgeous red and white dragonfruit
Selenicereus undatus – White Fleshed Dragon Fruit
Selenicereus undatus is the pitaya blanca or white dragon fruit with reddish pink skin and white flesh from huge night-blooming flowers.

A crunchy root that tastes like apple and pear
Smallanthus sonchifolius – Earth Apple
Smallanthus sonchifolius, known as an earth apple, has sweet, edible storage roots and single yellow flowers.

Edible flowers with a mushroom-like flavour for curries
Tupistra nutans – Nodding Tupistra
Tupistra nutans has thick, strap-like, emerald green, evergreen leaves and edible flowers used in curries.

A Chilean delicacy that you would only find at a Chilean farmer’s market unless you find it growing in your own garden
Ugni molinae – Chilean Guava
The Chilean guava, Ugni molinae, is an evergreen shrub with fragrant late-spring flowers and tasty ruby-red fruit.

A pink blueberry whether you needed it or not
Vaccinium ‘Pink Lemonade’ – Pink Blueberry
Vaccinium ‘Pink Lemonade’ is a tasty, pink-fruited blueberry with four seasons of interest in the garden.

A papaya relative with sweet fruit called champagne fruit
Vasconcellea x heilbornii – Babaco Papaya/Champagne Fruit
Vasconcellea x heilbornii is a hybrid related to papaya that produces similar-looking fruit but is more cold-tolerant.

A fruit that looks like a nut but tastes like a crunchy spicy apple
Ziziphus jujuba Autumn Beauty – Jujube
Ziziphus jujuba, jujube, red date, or Chinese date is a unique fruiting tree. Autumn Beauty is one of the best cultivars.


Discover these Unique Plants at Phoenix Perennials

At Phoenix Perennials we are always hunting for new and rare edibles to enliven the garden and kitchen and to help all of us embrace the zero mile diet by eating healthy food that we can grow and harvest just steps from our own back door. The edibles showcased above are available in most years.

Give Your Garden the Phoenix Perennials Touch:

At Phoenix Perennials we offer over 5000 different plants every year for in-person shopping at our garden centre and plant nursery in Richmond, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver. Additionally, we offer more than 3000 different plants each year for mail-order shipping across Canada. Stay connected with our diverse offerings and all things Phoenix Perennials by signing up for our E-Newsletter and Alerts and engaging with us on social media. Happy gardening!