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Chapter 5. Ethnic Vegetable Production

Guodong Liu, Bonnie Wells, Yuncong Li, Qingren Wang, and Johan Desaeger

Ethnic vegetable production in Florida has shown great potential and contributed significantly to the market and diversity of the state’s agricultural industry. More than 40 types of ethnic/Asian vegetables are commercially grown each year across Florida. In recent years, the increasing demand for these crops has resulted in a rapid expansion of Asian or ethnic vegetable production from northeast to south Florida. The acreage is rapidly increasing because of the demand and the niche market. Though availability, profitability, and competitiveness have increased, one of the concerns creating confusion between producers and consumers is that many of the ethnic vegetable crops have different names from different countries and cultures. Another concern is that, for many of these crops, there are no science-based production recommendations available for Asian or ethnic vegetable producers to follow. This unavailability of recommendations may limit the production of these crops as local growers attempt to determine crop requirements with limited guidance. However, before specific recommendations are developed for these specialty crops, ethnic vegetable growers should follow recommendations that are available for crop species closely related to these Asian or ethnic vegetables. This is especially important for pest control and pest management because it is usually very difficult to find pesticides labeled specifically for certain Asian or ethnic vegetable species.

The objectives of this publication are to (1) provide various names of some ethnic/Asian vegetable crops with EDIS publications available to readers; (2) list related chapters in this handbook, which provide recommendations for crops close to these ethnic vegetables grown in Florida; and (3) list EDIS publications currently available for these crops. We strongly encourage growers of ethnic vegetables to follow the UF/IFAS recommendations for closely related crop types or species until UF/IFAS recommendations for specific ethnic vegetables have been established. In addition, some EDIS publications focusing on Asian or ethnic vegetable crops in recent years may be of help to relevant growers. 

Web links for these EDIS publications are available for ethnic/Asian vegetable growers in Florida:

  1. Bitter Melon—an Asian Vegetable Emerging in Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1271
  2. Bok Choy, an Asian Leafy Green Vegetable Emerging in Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1337
  3. Chayote—a Potential Vegetable Crop for Floridahttps://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1454
  4. Chinese Mustard Cultivation Guide for Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1402
  5. Daikon Radish Cultivation Guide for Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1370
  6. Fingered Citron—A Fragrant, Ornamental Citrus Tree for Florida.  https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1427
  7. Florida Cultivation Guide for Malabar Spinach. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1371
  8. Goji Berry—a Novel Nutraceutical "Superfruit" for Florida Master Gardeners. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1391
  9. Leek Cultivation Guide for Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1388
  10. Long Bean—an Asian Vegetable Emerging in Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1268
  11. Long Squash—an Asian Vegetable Expanding in Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1272
  12. Luffa—an Asian Vegetable Emerging in Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1285
  13. Production Guide for Choy Sum—an Emerging Asian Vegetable in Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1380
  14. Production Guide of Vegetable Amaranth for Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1407
  15. Tong Hao—an Asian Vegetable Emerging in Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1276
  16. Waterleaf, a Potential Leafy Vegetable for Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1434
  17. Yacon, a Potential Tuberous Crop for Florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1435

Table 1. Common name and botanical classification for selected Asian or ethnic vegetables.

Vegetable Type

Common Name

Other Names

Family Name

Related Crop Grown in Florida

Root

Daikon radish

Long white radish, Oriental radish, white radish, winter radish

Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)

Radish (Chapter 15)

 

Galangal

Galanga, galangale, laos, and blue ginger

Zingiberaceae

Unknown

 

Ginger

Canton ginger, stem ginger, red ginger, ginger pop, Zingiber officinale, ginger ale, flavourer

Zingiberaceae

Unknown

 

Lobok radish

Chinese radish

Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)

Radish (Chapter 15)

 

Turmeric

Western ginger

Zingiberaceae

Root crops (Chapter 15)

Corm

Indian taro

Dasheen, yautia, eddo and kalo, giant elephant ear

Araceae

Unknown

 

Yacon

Peruvian ground apple

Asteraceae

Unknown

Leafy

A choy

Taiwanese lettuce

Asteraceae (Compositae)

Lettuce (Chapter 9)

 

Callaloo

Callalloo, calalloo, calaloo, kallaloo, Xian choy, amaranth, taro, Xanthosoma

Amaranthus (Amaranthaceae)

Lettuce (Chapter 9)

 

Long napa

Peking cabbage, celery cabbage

Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)

Cabbage (Chapter 6)

 

Malabar spinach

Vine spinach, red vine spinach, climbing spinach, creeping spinach, buffalo spinach, Ceylon spinach

Basella alba (Basellaceae)

Lettuce (Chapter 9)

 

Napa

Napa cabbage

Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)

Cabbage (Chapter 6)

 

Shalihon

Xue li hong, mustard green

Asteraceae (Compositae)

Lettuce (Chapter 9)

 

Shanghai bok choy

Bok choy, pak choi, bok choi, pok choy

Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)

Cabbage (Chapter 6)

 

Taiwan cabbage

Taiwan flat cabbage, Li Sun cabbage, flathead cabbage

Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)

Cabbage (Chapter 6)

 

Thai Basil

Chi neang vorng, anise basil, licorice basil

Lamiaceae

Unknown

 

Tong Hao

Tahn ho, Shungiku, crown daisy, garland daisy, edible chrysanthemum, garland chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum greens

Asteraceae (Compositae)

Lettuce (Chapter 9)

 

Tossa Jute

Jew’s mallow, bush okra, nalta jute, jute mallow

Malvaceae

Unknown

 

U choy

Yu choy, Chinese greens

Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)

Cabbage (Chapter 6)

 

Vietnamese coriander

hot mint, Vietnamese cilantro, phak phai, Cambodian mint

Polygonaceae

Unknown

 

Wawa choy

Baby Chinese cabbage

Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)

Cabbage (Chapter 6)

Flower

Gailon

Chinese broccoli (Kale)

Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)

Broccoli (Chapter 6)

Fruit/pod

Chinese eggplant

Aubergine, brinjal

Solanum (Solanaceae)

Eggplant (Chapter 8)

 

Fuzzy squash

Hairy gourd, fuzzy melon

Cucurbitaceae

Cucumber (Chapter 7)

 

Indian eggplant

Brinjal

Solanum (Solanaceae)

Eggplant (Chapter 8)

 

Kabocha

Japanese pumpkin, Kabocha squash, Kent pumpkin

Cucurbitaceae

Cucumber (Chapter 7)

 

Lablab beans

Hyacinth bean, bonavist bean/pea, dolichos bean, seim bean, Indian bean, cluster bean

Lablab purpureus (Fabaceae)

Cluster bean (Chapter 11)

 

Long bean, dark green

Asparagus bean, Chinese long bean, long-podded cowpea, yardlong bean

Fabaceae

Legume (Chapter 10)

 

Long bean, white

Chinese long bean, haricot asperge, pea bean, dow gauk

Fabaceae

Legume (Chapter 10)

 

Long squash

Po Gua, Poo Gua, Hu Gua, Opo squash, birdhouse gourd, bottle gourd, calabash gourd, hard-shelled gourd, dolphin gourd, long melon, opo squash, trumpet gourd, white-flower gourd

Cucurbitaceae

Cucumber (Chapter 7)

 

Luffa

Loofa, Loofah, Chinese okra, angled loofah, dishcloth sponge

Cucurbitaceae

Cucumber (Chapter 7)

 

Thai eggplant

Thai purple, Thai green, Thai yellow, Thai white

Solanum (Solanaceae)

Eggplant (Chapter 8)

 

Publication #CV301

Release Date:August 22, 2023

Related Experts

Desaeger, Johan

Specialist/SSA/RSA

University of Florida

Wang, Qingren

County agent

University of Florida

Wells, Bonnie C.

County agent

University of Florida

Liu, Guodong

Specialist/SSA/RSA

University of Florida

Li, Yuncong

Specialist/SSA/RSA

University of Florida

Miller, Christian F

University of Florida

Related Collections

Management
Commercial

About this Publication

This document is CV301, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date July 2017. Revised annually. Most recent revision June 2023. Visit the EDIS website at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu for the currently supported version of this publication.

About the Authors

Guodong Liu, associate professor, Horticultural Sciences Department; Bonnie Wells, Extension agent II, UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County; Yuncong Li, professor, Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences, UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center; Qingren Wang, Extension agent III, UF/IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County; and Johan Desaeger, assistant professor, Entomology and Nematology Department, UF/IFAS Gulf Coast REC; UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611.

Contacts

  • Guodong Liu
  • Peter Dittmar