Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets

Strychnos innocua - Elephant Orange

Edible parts - Fruit, Seeds, Caution, Leaves

A small or medium sized tree. It grows up to 13 m high. The trunk is straight. The bark is smooth and green or yellow, and powdery. The small branches are stout and smooth and also powdery. They are often twisted and hang downwards. The leaves are simple and occur in opposite pairs. They are widely spaced apart. They have short leaf stalks. They are oval and 3 -15 cm long by 2-9 cm wide. The leaves are wedge shaped at the base and leathery. They tend to be wider at the rounded tip. They can have fine hairs underneath. The veins are fine and net like. The flowers are green or yellow and in the axils of leaves. They are 8 mm long. Mostly 2-4 flowers occur in stalked clusters. Fruit are round and 6-10 cm across. They have a hard peel. They are bluish-green when young and turn yellow or orange when ripe. There are many seeds imbedded in a yellow pulp. The seeds are 4 sided and yellow. They are 1.5 cm across and very hard. The ripe fruit pulp is edible.

It is a tropical and subtropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. It grows from sea level to 1,400 m altitude in Tanzania. It grows naturally in areas with a rainfall of 600 to 1,000 mm annually. The places have 60 to 100 rainy days per year. The temperature ranges are 17°C to 29°C. The relative humidity is from 45 to 80%. These areas have dry lowland forest. Trees need to be in sunny locations. It grows in open woodland and rocky hills. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland.

Strychnos spinosa - Kaffir orange, Natal orange

Edible parts - Fruit, Leaves, Vegetable

A shrub which loses some of its leaves during the year. It can be spiny. It grows 4-5 m tall and can be 9 m tall. It has a large rounded crown. There can be one or several trunks. The branches can be flexible or stiff and smooth or hairy. The branches have spines in pairs which are 7 mm long and have a black tip. They are slightly curved backwards. The bark is grey brown and scaly. On old branches the bark becomes corky. The leaves are oval and up to 10 cm long. They are shiny green and hairy. They are produced opposite each other. They tend to be hairy and have 3-5 veins which start near the base of the leaf. The leaf base is wedge shaped. The flowers are small and pale green. They occur in groups at the ends of branches. The fruit is round and 5-17 cm across. It is green and becomes light brown at maturity. Sometimes the fruit is prickly. The fruit have a hard shell. The flesh of the ripe fruit is edible. The seeds are flat and poisonous. Fruit from trees with short fruit stalks are sweet while fruit from trees with long fruit stalks and narrow leaves are bitter.

A tropical plant. It grows in the drier areas of tropical Africa. It grows in the Sahel. It is in open woodland and secondary forest. It grows in areas with more than 500 mm rainfall per year. It will grow on slopes and ridges and is a tough tree. It grows up to 1,500 m altitude. In West Africa it grows up to 2,200 m altitude. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Vitellaria paradoxa - Shea

Edible parts - Fruit, Flowers, Nuts, Seeds, Seeds - oil, Vegetable

A deciduous tree. A compact tree which loses its leaves during the year. It grows to 15-25 m tall and has a spreading crown. The trunk is short and stout and can be 2 m across. The bark is corky. The bark is dark with cracks making it look like a crocodile skin. White latex come out when the bark is cut. The branches bend backwards almost to the ground when the leaves are wet. The leaves are oblong with wavy edges and clustered at the ends of branches. They are leathery and shiny. They are 10-25 cm long and 5-8 cm wide. The leaves are reddish when young. The flowers have both sexes and are produced in the dry season before the leaves. The flowers are white and clustered at the ends of shoots. They are about 1 cm long. They have a sweet smell. These are produced during the dry season when the tree has no leaves. The fruit are a flattened round shape and 4-5 cm across. The fruit stalk is 1-3 cm long. The fleshy layer is about 1 mm thick. When the fruit is green is exudes latex and the fruit turns brown when ripe. There can be one or up to 4 seeds which are shiny brown. The seeds have a white scar down

A tropical plant. It grows in the hot tropical lowland in areas with a low rainfall. It is common in drier parts of equatorial Africa. It occurs in savannah with a shallow water-table. It is most often between 500 and 1,000 m altitude. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall of 600-1,000 mm and a marked dry season of 6-8 months. It suits places with average temperatures of 24-30°C but can stand extremes of 21°C and 36°C. The minimum temperature should not be below 21°C and the maximum of 36°C. It does best on dry alluvial sandy soils which are rich in humus. It cannot tolerate areas which flood. It can re-grow after fire. It
can grow in arid places. It occurs between latitudes 0-15°N. Mostly it grows between 500-1,000 m altitude.

Vitex doniana - Black Plum

Edible parts - Leaves, Fruit, Vegetable

A deciduous tree. It can be 8-14 m tall. It has a heavy rounded crown. The trunk is clear. It can be 1 m across. The bark is pale brown or grey white. It has long cracks along it and the ridges are sticky. The base of old trees has scales. The leaves occur opposite one another. They are compound leaves arranged like the fingers on a hand with 5 leaflets. They are leathery and shiny. Each leaflet can be 5-18 cm long and 3-7.5 cm wide. They have a common leaf stalk which can be 22 cm long. The base of the leaflet is wedge shaped and the tip is rounded. The flowers have a smell. They occur in dense bunches of up to 20 on a long stalk. The flower bunch can be 12 cm across. Each flower is cream with one hairy violet lobe. The outer case of the flower bud forms a hairy cup around the base of the fruit. The fruit is smooth and oblong and 3 cm long. It is green marked with white dots. The fruit turn black when ripe. The pulp is edible. Inside there is a hard nut with 1-4 seeds.

It is a tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands and the highlands. It occurs in coastal woodlands in East Africa. It is generally at lower altitudes and can be in savannah. It grows in the Sahel. It requires a high water table. It suits areas with a rainfall between 700-2,000 mm per year. It grows naturally in areas with minimum temperatures of 10°C and maximum of 31°C. It grows from sea level to 1900 m altitude in Tanzania. It tends to be on alluvial soils or near watercourses. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa.

Zanthoxylum chalybeum - Gadda

Edible parts - Leaves, Bark, Fruit, Vegetable

A shrub or small tree. It loses its leaves during the year. It grows 6 m tall. The crown is broad and dense. It has prickly processes on the trunk. The leaves are 6-20 cm long. There are 2-5 leaflets. The leaflet blades are 3-7 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. They are narrowly oval. The flower panicle is 9 cm long. It is at the base of new branches. Male and female flowers are separate. The fruit are about 6 mm across. The seed is black and shiny.

It is a tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. It grows in dry woodland and on termite mounds. In Kenya it grows from sea level to 1,800 m altitude. It grows on coastal sands and well-drained red clay soils. It can grow in arid places.

Senna obtusifolia - Sicklepod

Edible portion : Leaves, Leaves - flavouring, Seeds - coffee, Seeds, Vegetable

An annual or perennial herb. Often it has a bad smell. It can be a shrub 0.6-2.5 m tall. It has slightly hairy stems. The leaf stalk does not have a gland but the axis of the leaf does. The leaf has leaflets in 3 pairs. They are oval and 1-6 cm long by 0.5-3.9 cm wide. The top of the leaf is rounded but with a sharp tip. It is wedge shaped at the base. The flower stalks have one or 2 flowers. The stalk for the flower cluster is very short, but the stalk for the individual flowers is 1-3.5 cm long. The flower petals are orange-yellow and 1-2 cm long. The fruits are thin slightly curved and tapering pods. They are 13-23 cm long and 4-7 mm wide. The seeds are brown. They are 4.5-6.5 cm long by 2-4 mm wide.

A tropical plant. It grows throughout the tropics. It is mostly a weed of roadsides and waste places. It grows from sea level to 2,000 m altitude. In Papua New Guinea it grows at about 80 m altitude. It grows along rivers and near lakes. In Africa it grows up to 1,700 m altitude. It can grow in arid places.

Panicum miliaceum - True millet, Common millet, Proso

Edible parts: Seeds, Cereal

An annual grass which grows up to 1 m high. It spreads to 15 cm across. It has a fibrous root system. The stalks are tufted. They are hairy at the base and on the nodes. The leaves are 30-50 cm long by 1-5 cm wide. They are narrow and flat. The edge is slightly rough with a few long hairs near the base. The seed head is much branched. The flower is yellow. The fruit is a grain. There are several races.

It is a temperate plant. It requires a moderately fertile well-drained soil in full sunlight. Once established it can tolerate heat and drought. It suits warm temperate and subtropical climates. Plants are frost sensitive. In Nepal it grows up to 2200 m altitude. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 5-9.

Pennisetum glaucum - Bullrush millet, Pearl millet

Edible parts:  Seeds, Cereal

A millet grass. It is an annual grass. It grows to 3 m tall. The leaf blades are 20-100 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. The flower is dense and 40-50 cm long by 1.2-1.5 cm wide. They also vary a lot in shape and size. Plants that tiller produce smaller heads. The species varies a lot. There are 13 cultivated, 15 weed and 6 wild races of this grass. It has a cylindrical ear like a bullrush. The grains are small and round and have a shiny grey colour like pearls. There are thousands of cultivated varieties.

A tropical plant. It suits regions with a short growing season. It grows in areas with less than 600 mm of rainfall. It is often in hot places. (It is replaced with sorghum between 600 and 1200 mm rainfall and then by finger millet or maize above 1200 mm rainfall.) It is important in the drier areas of India and Pakistan. It can grow in arid places.

Sorghum bicolor - Sorghum

Edible parts: Stems, Seeds, Cereal

A millet grass. A mature sorghum plant resembles maize. Plants vary in height from 45 cm to 4 m. It is an annual grass with erect solid stems. The stems can be 3 cm across at the base. Under the ground there is a widely branching extensive root system. Prop roots occur near the base. There are a range of different types of sorghum. Some have one main stem while others have many tillers. There are more tillers when plants are widely spaced. The nodes on the stem are slightly thickened. The distance between nodes is shortest near the base of the plant. Short eagerly kinds have 7 leaves while tall late varieties may have 24 leaves. The leaf blade can be 30-135 cm long. Leaves are bluish green and waxy. They have a prominent midrib. The large flower panicle can be 20-40 cm long. The flower occurs at the top of the plant. It can stick upright or bend over. The flower can be open or compact. There are several different varieties. Over 1000 cultivated varieties occur in China.

A tropical plant. It suits the savannah zones in the tropics. It tolerates heat and drought. It can recover from drought even as a seedling. It can tolerate water-logging. It can be grown on heavy or light soils. Sorghum needs short daylengths to flower. Many kinds are adapted to specific daylength and rainfall patterns. It suits hardiness zones 9-12.

Ensete ventricosum - False Banana

Edible parts: Leaves, Stem, Seeds, Corm, Flower heads, Rootstock, Rhizome, Vegetable

A banana like plant. It grows to 6-12 m high. The lower part of the leafy false stem is swollen. Many different varieties exist. The leaves are bright green with an obvious red midrib. The leaves can be 5 m long and 0.9 m wide. The flower is a very large hanging spike. It is 2-3 m long. The flowers are cream coloured. There is a single petal in a large red bract. The fruit resemble small bananas. They are 6-8 cm long and 3 cm thick. They have a yellow skin. The seeds are pea like and fill the fruit. The seeds are black and about 6 mm across. There are 50 cultivated types.

It grows in tropical Africa. It does best with a temperature of 18-28°C and a relative humidity of 60-80 %. In Ethiopia it grows between 1500 and 3000 m altitude but does best between 1700 and 2450 m altitude. In Malawi it is usually on the edges of forests or in sheltered gullies. It is damaged by frost or drought. It can grow in arid places. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.