Some 3 billion people in the world live outside the cash economy in the world’s poorest nations. Food security and regular supply are their daily concerns. Chronic malnutrition is a leading cause of death and disease for them. Young children are amongst the most affected. One child every 5-10 seconds dies from undernutrition. Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness for someone every minute. Most people in tropical and subtropical countries are iron deficient.
Our goal is to provide information that enables people to choose the right plant for their environment, to give them stable food production and a greater choice of plants to enrich their diets and improve their nutritional wellbeing.
The plant fact sheets listed in this collection are only a small portion of those available from FPI. Please check your plant inquiries in the ECHO Search and reference the FPI plant database for further information.
Most of the plants selected to list here are further described in country-specific publications by Food Plant Solutions (FPS in the Search).
8000 Starchy Staples
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3000 Nuts, Seeds, Herbs, and other foods
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Ficus sur - Cape Fig
Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves, Roots, Bark, Vegetable
A fig. This tree varies in form. It can be a small tree up to 6 m tall in dry places or a large spreading tree up to 12-24 m tall in forest. It normally loses its leaves for a short period. The bark is smooth and brownish grey. It has a thick trunk and shallow spreading roots. The leaves are alternate and leathery. They are oval with a pointed tip. The leaves are 10 cm long by 3 cm wide. They can be 23 cm long by 13 cm wide. They are red when young becoming green when mature. They are smooth and sometimes slightly hairy underneath. The leaf stalks are long and with a furrow on the upper surface. Twigs and leaves have milky juice. There are only a few small male flower near the opening of the fig and many female flowers. The fig is pollinated by a small wasp. The figs are roughly round and about 2-4 cm across. They have a prominent opening at the end. They are reddish-yellow when ripe. They hang from the trunk and old main branches. The pulp is sweet. Many figs form one long bunch.
A tropical plant. It occurs from sea level to 1600 m altitude. It can be up to 2,100 m. It occurs in areas where the rainfall is 700 -1200 mm. It grows in the Sahel. It grows in wet soils. It usually grows near streams. It cannot tolerate cold. It can be grown in sun but is best in shade. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.
Nymphaea caerulea - Water Lilly
Edible parts: Rhizome, Root, Flowers, Seeds
A waterlily. It is a herb that grows in water. The rhizome is embedded in the mud. The leaves and flowers float on the water. The leaves are green. The leaves are egg shaped and the sides overlap at the split section. The leaves are 30-40 cm across. The leaves with stalk spread 2.5-3 m wide. The flowers occur during the day. The petals are white with light blue tips. The flowers are 8-15 cm across.
It is a tropical plant. It grows in water. It grows in lagoons and stagnant water. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.
Plectranthus esculentus - Kaffir Potato
Edible parts: Tubers, Roots, Vegetable
A herb or small shrub. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 60 cm high. It can lie along the ground. It loses it leaves during the year. The leaves are fleshy and opposite. They are 5-8 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. They are narrowly oval. There are rounded teeth along the edge. The stems are angular. Some of the branches near the base bend down and grow into the ground to form long tubers. They grow from a central point like fingers on a hand. The tubers grow in clusters and are large. They can be 10 cm long and 2 cm wide. The flowers are yellow. They have a faint smell of tar.
A tropical plant. It grows naturally in southern tropical Africa. It grows in dry rocky and sandy soils. It grows between 600-1,900 m above sea level. It is hardy and needs frost free conditions. The best conditions for growth are 15-28°C. They need an annual rainfall of 700-1,100 mm. A soil pH of 6.5-7 is suitable. It can grow in arid places.
Sechium edule - Chayote
Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves, Seeds, Roots, Vegetable
A herb. It is a pumpkin family plant. It is a vigorously growing climber that can last for several years. The vine can be up to 15 m long. It has strong tendrils which can attach to fences and trees so that the plant can climb well. The choko leaves are about 15 -20 cm across and have a rough feel. The fleshy fruits contain only one large seed. The stems have furrows along them. The choko fruit is produced in the angle where the leaf joins the vines. Fruit can be up to 20 cm long and they are rough or irregular shaped on the outside. There are white and green fruited varieties. Some fruit have sharp spikes on the skin. Inside the fruit
there is one seed about 4 cm long. The flowers are separate. Male flowers are in clusters and female flowers are on their own. A choko plant produces a large thickened root tuber and the plant can re-grow from this tuber and go on growing year after year. Fruit can be green or white and can have soft spines.
A tropical and subtropical plant. Choko requires relative humidity of 80-85%, annual rainfall of at least 1500-2000 mm and average temperatures of 20-25°C with limits of 12-28°C. In equatorial tropical regions chokos will grow from sea level to about 2200 m altitude, but do best between 350 and 1000 m altitude. In Nepal they grow to about 2000 m altitude. In the lowlands it is best in shade. Chokos need a reasonably well drained soil. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 9-12.
Antidesma venosum - Tassel Berry
Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves
A shrub or small tree. It can grow to 15 m tall. The crown can be round and spreading or drooping. The bark is pale and flaky. The young twigs are covered with red hairs. The leaves are simple, large and without teeth. They can be 2.5-15 cm long and 1.9 -10 cm wide. The leaf shape and hairiness varies. There are about 7 pairs of conspicuous veins. The flowers are small and greenish. Male and female flowers occur on separate trees. The fruit is small and with one seed. It is 7 mm long by 5 mm wide. Several occur in a bunch. The fruit are oval and flattened. The colour varies between yellow, pink, red and black and fruit of
several colours can occur on one bunch. The fruit are edible.
A tropical plant. It occurs in coastal bush. It grows naturally in Central and Southern Africa. It needs to be in a frost free area. It can grow in arid places. It grows in the lowlands. It grows in wet grassland savannah. It grows in Miombo woodland. In Tanzania it grows between sea level to 1,200 m above sea level in areas with a rainfall between 700-2,000 mm.
Bridelia micrantha - Coastal Golden Leaf
Edible parts: Fruit, Roots, Leaves, Bark, Seed
A deciduous tree. It grows up to 21 m tall. It has a wide leafy crown. The trunk is grey-brown. It is smooth when young butrough when older. The twigs are knobbly and covered with small scattered raised brown dots. The leaves are simple and slightly wavy. They are oval and have a point at the end. The base is narrowed or rounded. The leaves are 4-18 cm long and 2.5-10 cm wide. There are 8-15 pairs of veins. The veins and midrib are raised under the leaf. The leaves are on short robust leaf stalks. Young leaves are red. The male and female flowers occur on the same tree. The male flowers have stalks and the female flowers have no stalks. The flowers are white in in clusters in the axils of leaves. The fruit are small and oval. They are black when ripe and 10 mm long by 7 mm wide. They are edible.
A tropical tree. It grows in open woodland and near rivers. It can stand some frost. It is drought resistant. In Malawi it grows between 500-1,750 m altitude. It grows in areas with a rainfall between 800-2,500 mm per year. It can grow in arid places. It can grow in seasonally flooded areas.
Vangueria infausta - Wild Medlar
Edible parts: Fruit, Seeds, Leaves
A shrub or small deciduous tree. It grows to 3 or 4.5 m tall. It can be 7 m tall. It has a smooth grey trunk. The bark becomes rough with age. The branches are short and stout. They are soft and covered with red hair when young. The leaves are light green and leathery. The leaves are 5-30 cm long and 3.8-18 cm wide. They are often egg-shaped. The tips can be round or blunt and they are densely hairy. The veins are like nets. The flowers are greenish-white or yellow. They are small. They grow in clusters. The fruit are round and 3.8 cm across. They have a shallow crown on top and are covered with a light brown leathery skin. They have 3 seeds inside. Each seed is in a separate compartment.
A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands and the highlands. It grows on stony and sandy ground. It grows in shady places. It can tolerate frost. It can tolerate drought. It grows between 10-3,333 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.
Berchemia discolor - Bird Plum
Edible parts: Fruit, Gum, Leaves
A tree. It grows 12-18 m tall. It usually loses its leaves during the year. The branches are spreading. The crown is dense and round. The leaves are simple and nearly opposite. They are dark green above and paler underneath. They are 2.5-10 cm long and 8 cm wide. They are oval with pointed tips. The flowers are in small stalked clusters in the axils of leaves. The fruit are like small pointed plums. They are about 2 cm long. They are yellow or red. They have a sweet yellow pulp and a kernel with 2 seeds. The fruit are edible.
A tropical plant. It grows in dry forest. It grows at low altitude in South Africa. In East Africa it grows from sea level to 1,600 m altitude. It is damaged by frost or cold winds. It is drought resistant. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 300-635 mm. It can grow in arid places. It is often on termite mounds. It grows in the lowlands and along rivers. It grows in Miombo woodlands.
Uapaca kirkiana - Sugar Plum
Edible parts: Fruit
A small tree. It grows 5-6 m high. It can be 13 m high. It has a rounded crown. The bark is dark grey and rough. The leaves are scattered or clustered at the tips of branches. They are oval and 11 cm long by 11 cm wide. They are thickly leathery. The upper surface is dark green and shiny. The lower surface has rust coloured woolly hairs. The male and female flowers are greenish-yellow. The fruit is round and rusty-yellow. They are 3-4 cm across. They are fleshy with a rather hard skin. The flesh is edible.
A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands and the highlands. It occurs at medium altitudes in open woodland. It can be dominant on gravelly soils. It grows between 720-1,950 m above sea level. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 500-1,300 mm. It needs a temperature in the range 14°-29°C. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa.
Vitex mombassae - Smelly Berry
Edible parts: Fruit, Seed, Ash - salt
A shrub or tree. It grows up to 6 m tall. It often has many branches from the base. The leaves have 3-5 leaflets. The leaves have long stalks but the leaflets are stalkless. The leaflets radiate from one point and the end one is the largest. The leaflets are 7.5 cm long and 1.9 cm wide. They are densely velvety below. The flowers are violet or 2 coloured. The occur in groups on long stalks in the axils of leaves. The fruit has a hard stone and a thin fleshy covering. It is black when mature. The fruit is edible.
A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. It grows in the savannah. It prefers sandy soils. It occurs in hot areas on stony outcrops. It is also in deciduous woodland and especially on Kalahari sand. In Kenya it grows from sea level to 450 m altitude. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall of 955-1,050 mm. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland.
