I’ve been growing chaya for multiple years now and it’s become one of our trustiest vegetables. There’s a reason it features prominently in my book Totally Crazy Easy Florida Gardening.

By the way, you can now find multiple varieties of chaya for sale on ebay.

There seem to be two main varieties. The jury is out on whether they’re different species or just variations on the same species.

The deeply-lobed type appears to be a wilder form and the maple-leaf type seems to me to have been better selected as a vegetable.

There are stinging hairs on the leaves of the really wild types, but both of my cultivars don’t seem to have that issue, except for the occasional prickle you’ll feel when picking.

Plant genius Craig Hepworth hooked me up with the maple-leaf type some years ago and I can’t remember at this point where I acquired the deeply-lobed variant.

Here are my observations on both.

Deeply-Lobed Chaya

Tends to bloom quickly and when still short (3-4′).

Small white blooms attract an abundance of zebra longwing butterflies

Leaves somewhat coarser in texture

Leaves tend to be deeper green

Possibly because a larger, tree-sized plant over time

Seems less tolerant of frost than the maple-leaf varieties

Easy to grow – few pest issues

Giant tree form appears possible

Maple-Leafed Chaya

More tender leaves

Less likely to flower until taller – sometimes won’t flower at all due to frosts

Higher yield per leaf

Not as desirable as an insectary plant

Easy to grow – few pest issues

Maximum size unknown

Thoughts

Plant both types of chaya and you’ll have leaves and butterflies. I’ve met people that bought the deeply lobed type as a “butterfly plant” without ever being told it was an edible vegetable.

The leaves on both are good vegetables though I posit that the maple-leaf type edges out its deeply lobed competitor.

For my complete survival plant profile on chaya, click here.

Definitely a must-grow if you have the right climate. My apologies to my readers north of zone 8. For a perennial green in your area, try growing Good King Henry or the always edible linden tree.

Even better, get a copy of Eric Toensmeier’s book Perennial Vegetables – wherever you live!

I keep coming back to that book and finding new perennial vegetables to try out.