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
7000 Legumes
6000 Leafy Greens
5000 Fruits
4000 Vegetables
3000 Nuts, Seeds, Herbs, and other foods
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Ilex cassine - Dahoon Holly
Edible Portion: Leaves, Leaves - Tea
A tree. It grows 8 m tall. It has small sword shaped leaves. They are leathery and have shallow teeth. The leaves are 8-10 cm long. They have soft prickles along the edges. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. The flowers are small and greenish white. They are held in small, hairy clusters near the ends of branches. The fruit are red berries.
A tropical plant. It grows in coastal swamps and moist, coastal forests. It can tolerate occasional flooding with fresh or brackish water. It suits hardiness zones 6-11. Melbourne Botanical Gardens.
Other names:
Yapoon, Acebo, Cassina, Cassine, Dahoon Holly
Synonyms:
Ilex dagoon T. Walter;
Pachira glabra - Saba Nut
Edible Portion: Seeds, Nuts, Vegetable, Leaves
A small tree. It grows 17 m high. The trunk is bright green. The leaves have 5-7 leaflets. The leaves have long leaf stalks. The flowers come out at night. They have light green strap-like petals. The stamen are white and curved. The fruit is a green capsule 12.5 cm long. It contains many large seed. It is like a cocoa pod. There are 10-24 seeds.
A tropical plant. It is native to Central America. It grows on alluvial plains and lowland rainforests. It suits humid locations. In Townsville BG.
Common names : Saba nut, Glabrous pachira, Amendoim-de-arvore, American chestnut, Cacau-do-maranhao, Cacau-selvagem, Castanha-da-praia, Castanha-do-maranhao, Castano de Guinea, Kalanga ya wazungu, Mamorana, Nguba nquela, Nguba mputu, “Pachira nut",
Synonyms :
Bombacopsis glabra (Pasq.) Robyns;
Bombax anisophyllum Buxb.;
Bombax columellatum Buxb.;
Bombax glabrum (Pasq.) Robyns;
Bombax kimuenzae De Wilderman & T. Durand;
Bombax oleaginum (Decne) A. Robyns;
Carolinea campestris (Mart. & Zucc.) Decne
Pachira affinis (Mart.) Decne;
Pachira campestris (Mart. & Zucc.) Decne;
Pachira oleaginea Decne;
Pochota glabra (Pasq.) Bullock;
Theobroma bicolor - Peruvian cacao
Edible Portion : Fruit,Pulp,Seeds
A small evergreen tree. It grows 10-13 m high. It can be 30 m high in the forest. The leaves are papery and 15-35 cm long. They can have 2 colours. The flowers are in small groups on the thin branches. The fruit can weigh 300 g. The fruit is medium to large. It is 8-12 cm across. The fruit is cone shaped. The inside of the fruit is chocolate coloured.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It suits the hot, wet tropical lowlands. It usually grows as an understorey plant in the rainforests in Central and South America. In Central America it grows from sea level to 1,000 m altitude.
AKA Bacao, Cacao blanco, Cacao do Peru, Cacau-rana, Chis po yo, Culuju, Himoro amohi, Killa, Macambo, Macavu, Maraca, Maraco, Mocambo, Odaba, Odoba, Patashte, Pataste, Tiger cocoa, Wakamp,
Synonyms:
Cacao bicolor (Bonpl.) Poir.;
Theobroma cordata Ruiz & Pav.;
Theobroma ovatifolia Moc., Sesse & DC.;
Tribroma bicolor (Bonpl.) O. F. Cook;
Guazuma ulmifolia
Edible portions : Fruit, Bark - drink, Flowers, Seeds, Gum
A tall tree. It loses its leaves during the year. The bark is grey-brown and rough and cracked. The tree grows 12-20 m high. The crown is irregular and the branches droop. The leaves are 6-20 cm long and are unequal at the base. Leaves are hairy and have irregular teeth. The flowers occur in clusters. They are about 5 mm wide and yellow. They have 5 petals and a woolly appearance. There are thread like appendages at the top of the flowers. The fruit is a capsule which is round and green but turns black when ripe. The fruit is edible. There are several oval seeds in a sweet, edible, mucilage layer.
It is a tropical plant. It is native to tropical America. It will grow on poor soils. It grows from sea level to 1,200 m in the tropics. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall below 1,200 mm. It can grow in arid places. Madras.
Pseudosamanea guachapele
A tall tree. The bark is a light colour and deeply cracked into long plates. The leaves are twice divided. The secondary leaflets get larger along the stalk. The flowers are white in round heads. It is a tropical plant. It grows in re-growth forest
Annona macroprophyllata
Edible portion : Fruit
A small deciduous tree. It grows to 7-8 m tall. It has 2 kinds of leaf. One is the broadly oval smooth leaf with a leaf stalk. The others are like round bracts without a leaf stalk and these fall off. These grow at the base of the small branches. Under the leaves, fruit and branches has a powdery appearance. The flowers are maroon coloured and 2-3 cm across. There are 3 outer petals. These are 2-5 cm long. There are 3 small inner petals. The fruit are large and pink or white. They are 12 cm long. They have a thin skin. Fruit vary in colour and texture. A tropical plant. It suits the tropical lowlands. It grows between sea level and 1800 m altitude in Central America. It does best on fertile volcanic soils. A rainfall of 1,000-1,400 is suitable. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In Brisbane Botanical Gardens.
Cyperus papyrus - Papyrus sedge
Edible portion : Rhizome, Root, Culms, Stems, Shoots, Vegetable, Spice
A sedge. These grow in clumps and have grass like leaves and solid stalks. It is an erect herb which grows in tufts. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 2.5 m tall. It has a short, thick, woody underground stem or rhizome. The stems are triangle shaped. The leaves are reduced to brown sheaths. There are 4-10 flowering bracts. These are 7-15 cm long. They are about 1 cm wide. The flower is compound with over 100 branches 10-25 cm long. Each has a sheath like bract 3-5 cm long near the base. There are also 3-5 bracts about 20 cm long at the tip. When the flowers are fertile there are 3-5 spikes with 20-30 spikelets. Each spikelet has 3-20 flowers. These are 1 cm long by 1 mm wide. The nut is 3 sided and brown.
Distribution : It needs tropical conditions. It grows in marshy habitats and lakes. It will grow in slow flowing water. It will grow in water up to 1 m deep. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 9-12.
Tripsacum dactyloides - Fakahatchee Grass
Edible portion : Seeds
A grass that keeps growing from year to year.
Distribution It is a warm temperate plant. It suits hardiness zones 3-9.
Found in : Bahamas*, Central America*, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Mexico*, North America*, South America*, Suriname, USA, West Indies, Found in: Description A
Ficus microcarpa - Indian Laurel Fig
Edible Portion : Fruit, Aerial root - tea.
A fig. It is an evergreen tree. It grows 15-25 m tall and spreads to 5 m across. The trunk can be 50 cm wide. The stem is erect and has buttresses. There are aerial roots. The bark is light grey and smooth. The branches are low and it has an open crown. It has a curtain of strangling roots. The leaves are dark green and shiny above and light green underneath. They are oval and pointed. They are 6-12 cm long by 2-7 cm wide. The leaf stalks are 0.5-1.5 cm long. The figs are rosy red or purple and round. They are produced singly or in pairs and are 1.2 cm across. They do not have fruit stalks. The fruit are edible. This plant varies considerably and 3 different varieties are known.
Distribution : It grows in tropical and subtropical climates. It grows in light to medium soils. It does best in an open sunny position. It is drought resistant but damaged by frost. They need a temperature above 13°C. It is often in coastal rainforests. It suits humid locations. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In XTBG Yunnan.
Glycyrrhiza glabra
Edible Parts : Roots, Herb, Spice, Leaves-tea
A hardy deciduous perennial herb or bush. It grows to 1-2 m tall. It has a clump of straight woody stalks. It has a deep taproot. It also has spreading stolons just under the ground surface. It has spreading leaves with leaflets along the stalk. The plant loses its leaves during the winter. The flowers are in a cluster and are blue and pea like. The pods are flat and 2-3 cm long. They turn brown at maturity. The pods contain between 1 and 7 kidney shaped seeds. They are brown and very small.
Distribution; It does well in warm temperate and subtropical climates. It grows well in areas suitable for citrus. It needs a deep light soil. It needs a sunny position. It can tolerate drought. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 7-9.
Other Names :
Athimathuram, Atimadhura, Atimadhuramu, Atimaduram, Ava suse, Biyam bali, Biyan, Camthao, Dzirt'k'bila, Gan cao, Golostebelni sladki koren, Iarba dulce, Iratimadhuram, Jaishbodomodhu, Jashtimadhu, Jestha madha, Jethi Madh, Jethi madha, Jethi-madh, Kan ts'ao, Lakritze, Lakritzpflanze, Liquirizia, Madhuka, Matutak, Meyan, Mithi lakdi, Mulhatti, Orozuz, Palidu, Palodu, Palodulce, Regalissia, Regaliz, Regaliz, Reglisse, Siribiyan, Sladic, Sus, Suus, Sweetroot, Sweetwood, Thinbaw-nwecho, Yashti madhuka, Yashti-madhu, Yashtimadhukam, Licorice
Glycyrrhiza glabra L. var. glabra;
Glycyrrhiza glabra L. subsp. glandulifera (Waldst. & Kit.) Ponert;
Gylcyrrhiza glabra L. var. glandulifera (Waldst. & Kit.) Regel & Herd.;
Glycyrrhiza glabra L. var. typica L.;
Glycyrrhiza glabra L. var. violacea (Boiss. & Noe) Boiss.;
Glycyrrhiza glandulifera Waldst. & Kit.;
Glycyrrhiza pallida Boiss. & Noe;
Glycyrrhiza violacea Boiss. & Noe;
