Scientific Names of Edible Plants

Question: Lactuca sativa

Answer: Lettuce! Lactuca refers to the milky sap the plant produces when flowering. Sativa is a common species designation and means “cultivated.”

Question: Solanum lycopersicum

Answer: Tomato! Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) and eggplants (Solanum melongena) are two other tasty plants in the same genus. All three are members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae.

Question: Cocos nucifera

Answer: Coconut! The lonely coconut palm is the only species in its genus.

Question: Oryza sativa

Answer: Rice! A staple food of many cultures, rice is known as arroz in Spanish, reis in German, and riso in Italian, all of which hint at its Latin name.

Question: Zea mays

Answer: Corn! Also known as maize, corn is one of the top staple crops in the world. Its species name, mays, is derived from the indigenous Taíno word for the plant, maiz.

Question: Daucus carota

Answer: Carrot! The species name is a good hint for this one. The domesticated carrot shares its scientific names with the wild carrot, also known as Queen Anne’s lace.

Question: Vitis vinifera

Answer: Grape! Vinifera means wine-bearing (and explains the origins of vino, vinho, and du vin for wine in the various Romance languages).

Question: Malus domestica

Answer: Apple! Malus means apple in Latin. With over 7,500 varieties of apples in the world, it has definitely earned the title of “domesticated!”