What Is a Food Forest Plant List
A food forest plant list groups edible and useful plants by the role they tend to play in a layered planting, rather than listing them alphabetically or by type alone. The idea borrows from how a natural forest is structured, with tall trees at the top, progressively shorter plants beneath them, and a mix of climbers and groundcovers filling the remaining space. Matching plants to a layer makes it easier to plan a planting where each layer gets roughly the light and space it needs.
Many of the plants below are also perennials, meaning they aren’t replanted every year. If you want a closer look at perennial vegetables, herbs, and fruits on their own, see this edible perennial garden guide.
The 7 Layers of a Food Forest
A commonly cited model describes a food forest in seven layers. Different sources sometimes combine or split these slightly differently, so treat the count as a widely used framework rather than a fixed rule:
- Canopy — tall fruit and nut trees
- Sub-canopy (low tree) — smaller trees that tolerate some shade from the canopy
- Shrub — berry bushes and other woody shrubs
- Herbaceous — non-woody perennial and self-seeding plants
- Groundcover — low, spreading plants that cover bare soil
- Root (rhizosphere) — root and tuber crops
- Vine — climbing plants that use trees or structures for support
Some versions of the model add an eighth “mycelial” or fungal layer, but that’s less consistently included across sources.
Canopy Layer Plants
The canopy layer is made up of larger fruit and nut trees that form the top tier of the planting. Examples commonly grown in food forests include:
- Apple
- Pear
- Cherry and other stone fruits (plum, peach)
- Persimmon
- Mulberry
- Walnut and other large nut trees
Canopy trees take the longest to mature and bear fruit, so they’re usually the first thing planted in a new food forest design.
Sub-Canopy (Low Tree) Layer Plants
Sub-canopy, or low tree, species are smaller trees that can handle partial shade from the canopy above, or that stay naturally compact. Examples include:
- Pawpaw
- Fig
- Hazelnut
- Serviceberry (also known as Saskatoon berry or Juneberry)
- Dwarf or semi-dwarf apple and pear varieties
Shrub Layer Plants
The shrub layer is where many of the most popular berry crops live:
- Blueberry
- Currant and gooseberry
- Elderberry
- Raspberry and blackberry (caneberries)
- Aronia (black chokeberry)
- Honeyberry
Herbaceous Layer Plants
Herbaceous layer plants are non-woody and often perennial, filling in space between shrubs and trees:
- Comfrey — often used as a “chop and drop” mulch plant, since its deep roots are said to pull up nutrients from lower in the soil
- Bee balm
- Rhubarb
- Lovage
- Sorrel
- Culinary and clary sage
Groundcover Layer Plants
Groundcover plants spread low across the soil surface, helping to suppress weeds and protect bare ground:
- Strawberry (including alpine strawberry)
- Clover (white or red)
- Creeping thyme
- Mint (best contained, since it spreads readily)
Root Layer Plants
The root, or rhizosphere, layer includes plants grown mainly for their underground storage roots or tubers:
- Jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke)
- Horseradish
- Groundnut (Apios americana), a nitrogen-fixing perennial vine grown for its edible tubers
- Garlic and garlic chives
Vine Layer Plants
Vines use trees, trellises, or other structures to climb, adding another layer of production in the same footprint:
- Grape — young vines often benefit from some protection while they establish; see this guide to grow tubes for grapes for how that works
- Hardy kiwi
- Maypop (a cold-hardy passionflower species)
- Hops
Top Survival Crops to Prioritize
“Survival crops” generally refers to staple foods that are relatively easy to grow, store well, and provide meaningful calories — a useful lens if the goal is food security rather than variety alone. Commonly mentioned examples that fit a food forest or perennial planting include:
- Potatoes (where grown as part of an annual bed alongside the food forest)
- Jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke)
- Nut trees such as walnut and hazelnut (calorie-dense and storable)
- Winter squash (another frequent annual companion crop)
- Beans (annual, often nitrogen-fixing)
- Corn (annual)
- Fruit trees generally, once established, for calories and storability (dried or preserved)
There isn’t a single authoritative “top 10” list — different sources emphasize different staples depending on climate and storage methods — but calorie density, storability, and reliability under local conditions are the themes that come up most often.
FAQ
What are the 7 layers of a food forest? Canopy, sub-canopy (low tree), shrub, herbaceous, groundcover, root, and vine are the seven layers most commonly described, though some sources group or add to these slightly differently.
Can you give me a list of food plants? Yes — see the layer-by-layer lists above, which include tree fruits and nuts, berry shrubs, herbaceous perennials, groundcovers, root crops, and vines commonly used in food forests.
What food grows in forests? Naturally occurring forests can produce foraged foods like certain mushrooms, berries, and nuts, but a cultivated food forest is a deliberately planted system using fruit and nut trees, berry shrubs, perennial vegetables, and other edible plants arranged in layers for better use of space and light.
What are the top 10 survival crops? There’s no single agreed-upon list, but calorie-dense, storable staples such as potatoes, winter squash, beans, corn, nuts, and perennial tubers like sunchokes are frequently mentioned. For a broader set of perennial options to pair with these, see this edible perennial garden guide.