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
819 Issues in this Publication (Showing issues 8000 - 8000) Previous | Next
Phyllostachys decora - Beautiful Bamboo
Edible Portion: Buds, Shoots
A slender bamboo. It has a creeping rhizome or underground stem. The culms are 8 m long and 3 cm across. They are green. The internodes are 12-16 cm long. They are slightly ribbed. The shoots are 20-30 cm long by 1.5 cm wide.
Phyllostachys edulis - Moso Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It grows 20 m tall. The stems are 20 cm across. The internodes are 40 cm long. There are 2-4 leaves on the last branch. The leaf blade is 4-11 cm long by 1 cm wide.
Pleioblastus simonii - Simon Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It grows 6 m tall. It has several leafy branches at each node. The leaves are 30 cm long. The shoots are 2 cm across.
Polygonatum falcatum - Deer bamboo
Edible Portion: Leaves, Root, Shoots
A small plant that keeps growing from year to year. The stems are 1 m long. They have a red tint. The leaves are long and narrow. The flowers are small and are carried singly.
Pseudosasa japonica - Arrow Bamboo, Hardy bamboo
Edible Portion: Seeds, Stem, Cereal, Shoots
A bamboo. It can grow 3.5-4.5 m high. The canes are olive green. The leaves are large and ribbon shaped. They are glossy but rough and whitened underneath. They are 20-25 cm long and 2.5-5 cm wide. The stems have brownish sheaths attached.
Schizostachyum blumei - Tamiyang bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It has short rhizomes. The stems are erect and arching over. They hang down at the tip. They are 3-7 m tall and 1 -2 cm across. The internodes are 30 cm long. The sheaths on the stems are sword shaped or curved back. They have white hairs. The leaves are sword shaped and dark green. The flowers are in untidy tufts at the nodes.
Schizostachyum brachycladum - Sacred Bali Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
An erect bamboo. It forms dense clumps. It grows about 10-20 m high and 5-10 cm across the stem. The shoots are smooth and with shorter internodes than Schizostachyum lima. They are 20-50 cm long. The sheaths stay on the stem and have reddish hairs. The leaves are sword shaped and hairy underneath.
