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
948 Issues in this Publication (Showing issues 3000 - 3000) Previous | Next
Corymbia citriodora - Lemon-Scented Gum
Edible Portion: Manna, Leaves - Flavouring
A slender tree. It grows 25-50 m tall and spreads 25 m wide. The bark is powdery and grey and peels off. The leaves are broadly sword shaped and rough and green. The young leaves are more broad. The leaves have a lemon scent. The flowers are in clusters and are creamy white. They are 2 cm across.
Crotalaria longirostrata - Long-Beak Rattlepod
Edible Portion: Leaves, Flowers
A herb or shrub. It is erect and grows 1.5 m high. The leaves are deep green. They are compound and alternate. The flowers are yellow.
Cymbopogon citratus - Lemon Grass
Edible Portion: Leaves, Herb, Spice, Lower Stem, Leaves - Tea
A coarse clumpy grass about 1 m high. It forms dense tufts and clumps. The stems are hollow and cane like. The leaves have a rough edge and are about 1 m long by 1 cm wide. They curve over. They are pale blue-green. It very rarely produces flowers. When flowers are produced they are in a loose branched panicle. These are 5 cm long. It has a lemon smell when crushed.
Erythrina berteroana - Coral Bean
Edible Portion: Leaves, Shoots, Buds, Flowers, Seeds
A tree. It grows 6-10 m high. The crown is open. The leaves have 3 leaflets. These are 15 cm long and broadly diamond shaped. The flower clusters are erect and 15-30 cm long with bright red flowers along them. The fruit are woody twisted pods. These are 10-25 cm long and constricted between the seeds. There are many seeds and they are about 1 cm long. They are red with a black line.
Eucalyptus globulus - Blue Gum, Tasmanian Blue Gum
Edible Portion: Oil
A spreading tree. It grows 15-50 m high. It spreads 10-25 m wide The bark is smooth and light yellow or grey. It sheds in strips. The inner bark is light green or brown. The young stems are square and the young leaves clasp the stems. They are oval and 15 cm long. The adult leaves are sickle shaped leaves 10-30 cm long. The flowers occur singly and are white to cream.
Eucalyptus grandis - Flooded Gum
Edible Portion: Information not noted at this time.
A tree. It grows 55 m tall. The leaves are sword shaped and 10-16 cm long by 2-3 cm wide. The fruit are 5-8 cm long by 4-7 cm wide.
It is a subtropical plant.
Eucalyptus robusta - Swamp Mahogany
Edible Portion: Medicine
A tree. It grows 30 m tall. The bark is rough and fibrous. The fruit are 1.5 cm long by 1 cm wide. They have
Eucalyptus tereticornis - Forest Red Gum
Edible Portion: Manna, Lerp, Nectar
A tall tree. It grows 50 m tall. The leaves are narrow and alternate. They are oval and curved. They are 8-24 cm long by 1-4 cm wide. The tip is pointed. The flowers are creamy-white and in bundles of 5-12.
Gmelina arborea - Comb Tree, Snapdragon Tree, Tall Beachberry
Edible Portion: Seeds, Fruit, Flowers - Flavouring, Leaves
A tree which loses its leaves. It grows to 10-25 m high. The trunk is erect and the branches are horizontal. The bark is greyish brown. The bark peels off in thin flakes. Young parts are covered with silky hairs. The leaves have stalks. The leaves are 10-20 cm long by 7.5-14.5 cm wide. They are broadly oval and have a wedge shaped base. The leaves underneath are covered with hairs. The flowers are brown or yellow. The grow in loose flower clusters at the ends of branches. These are about 25 cm long. The fruit is fleshy and with a hard covering over the seed. It is oval and yellow outside when ripe. It has 1-2 oblong seeds. The fruit pulp is edible.
Ilex paraguariensis - Paraguay Tea, Mate
Leaves
Edible parts - leaves, leaves - tea
An evergreen shrub. It grows up to 6-18 m high. The leaves are 8-12 cm long by 3-6 cm wide. It has somewhat leathery holly like leaves. They are alternate. They are pale green. The edges are coarsely toothed. The flowers are white. They are in a tuft with the flowers at the same level. The berries are small and yellow, red or black.
