Data / Original study
Which Crops Adapt to the Widest Range of Climates?
Climate breadth is the number of USDA zones a species tolerates (usdaZoneMax − usdaZoneMin). The widest-adapted crops below are the safest bets for uncertain or shifting climates. Showing the top 25.
| # | Species | USDA range | Zones spanned | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Cumin | 2–11 | 10 | Herb |
| 2 | Dill | 2–11 | 10 | Herb |
| 3 | Garden Pea | 2–11 | 10 | Vegetable |
| 4 | Radish | 2–11 | 10 | Vegetable |
| 5 | Spinach | 2–11 | 10 | Vegetable |
| 6 | Alfalfa | 3–11 | 9 | Timber & Agroforestry |
| 7 | Carrot | 3–11 | 9 | Vegetable |
| 8 | Cattail | 3–11 | 9 | Ornamental |
| 9 | Niger | 3–11 | 9 | Vegetable |
| 10 | Potato | 3–11 | 9 | Vegetable |
| 11 | Bathua | 3–10 | 8 | Vegetable |
| 12 | Indian Wood-Sorrel (Yellow Sorrel) | 4–11 | 8 | Other |
| 13 | Lotus | 4–11 | 8 | Ornamental |
| 14 | Rocket | 3–10 | 8 | Vegetable |
| 15 | Safflower | 4–11 | 8 | Herb |
| 16 | Strawberry | 3–10 | 8 | Fruit |
| 17 | Ajuga | 3–9 | 7 | Other |
| 18 | American groundnut | 3–9 | 7 | Other |
| 19 | Black Medick | 3–9 | 7 | Timber & Agroforestry |
| 20 | Buffalo grass | 3–9 | 7 | Other |
| 21 | Catmint | 3–9 | 7 | Herb |
| 22 | Chives | 3–9 | 7 | Herb |
| 23 | Cogon Grass | 5–11 | 7 | Ornamental |
| 24 | Comfrey | 3–9 | 7 | Other |
| 25 | Creeping phlox | 3–9 | 7 | Other |
Methodology & data
This study is computed from our plant database. Of 480 profiled species, 480 carry a verified USDA hardiness range; the remaining 0 lack zone data and are excluded from every count here. Hardiness ranges are compiled from the RHS, the Missouri Botanical Garden and standard pomology references. No sun, water, height or soil axes exist in the dataset yet, so those are not reported.
Released under CC BY 4.0 — reuse with attribution to Agripure.
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