Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets

Mangifera pendantra

Edible : fruit

A tree. It grows 28 m tall. The trunk is 90 cm across. It can have small buttresses. The leaves are oblong and 16-20 cm long by 6-9 cm wide. They are rough and have distinct veins on both surfaces. The veins are net like. The leaf stalk is 1.5-3.5 cm long. The flowering panicles are pyramid shaped. They are 15-30 cm long and densely hairy. The flowers are yellowish or creamywhite. The flowers have 5 stamens. The fruit is like a small mango. It is 7-10 cm long by 4-5 cm wide. The flesh is orange. The stone is 4-5 cm long by 3-3.5 cm wide by 1.7-2 cm thick. The woody layer has deep grooves.

Distribution : A tropical plant. They grow in the humid tropics.

Myriopteron extensum

Edible : Stem

A vigorous twining climber. It grows 10 m long. The branches are pale grey. The sap is white. The leaves are oval and 9-18 cm long by 4-11 cm wide. The flowers are white.

Distribution : A tropical plant. It grows in thickets and open woods between 600-1,600 m above sea level. In XTBG Yunnan.

Melientha suavis

Edible : Leaves, Flowers, Fruit

A shrub 4-8 m tall. It can grow to 13 m tall. The trunk is 25 cm across. The trunk is straight and cylindrical. The leaves are oval. They are 6-12 cm long by 2.5-5 cm wide. The leaf stalk is 1-3 mm long. The flowers can be in groups of singly. They can grow from branches of in the axils of leaves. The male and female flowers occur on separate trees. They are green. The fruit is fleshy and with a hard stone inside. It is 2.3-3 cm long by 1.5-1.7 cm wide. It is yellow

Distribution : A tropical plant. It grows in dense forests. It often grows on limestone mountains.

The leaves are eaten cooked as a vegetable. The young leaves, shoots and flowers are served as a vegetable in soups of in dried fish curry. The ripe fruit are eaten. Caution: There is a similar looking plant that is poisonous

Lansium parasiticum

Edible : Fruit

An upright slender tree to 12-20 m high. It has sticky sap. The leaves are alternate and simple. Leaves are up to 40 cm long and made up of 5-7 large leaflets. The flowers are yellow in spikes from old wood mostly on the branches. The flowers have 5 petals which join to form a tube. The flowers have a sweet smell. The fruit is 3-5 cm across and divided into 5 segments with 1-2 large seeds. The fruit is borne in long drooping clusters. There can be 25 fruit in a cluster. The fruit is pale yellow when ripe. It develops a brown scurf on the surface as it ripens. The seeds are green and bitter and are not eaten. Langsats have thin skin, milky juice and are oval and 3.7 cm across. Dukus have thick skin, are round, do not have milky juice and are 5 cm across. They are also sweeter than Langsat.

Distribution : A tropical plant. It suits the hot, wet tropical lowlands. It is native to Malaysia. It occurs in coastal areas and probably up to 700 m altitude in the tropics. A rich deep well drained soil is needed. It suits humid places and is not suited to places with a distinct dry season. It cannot tolerate drought. It can grow with an annual rainfall of less than 1,500 mm. It does well in part shade. It can tolerate lower temperature, rainfall and humidity than rambutan. A temperature between 25°-30°C is best. It grows between 17°N - 17°S. A pH between 5.0-6.0 is best.

Jatropha multifida

Edible : Leaves, Roots, Fruit, Oil, Caution

A tree like shrub. It is succulent and keeps growing from year to year. It grows to 7 m high and spread to 4 m across. The stem is simple and has few branches. The stem is stocky and 3-6 cm thick. The leaves are rounded and with 7-15 lobes. This means the leaves are finely divided. The leaves are 20-40 cm across and leaflets 4-8 cm across. The flowers are small and bright red. They are on long stalks and many occur together. The flowers are 5 mm across. The fruit is a capsule 3-4 cm across. They contain up to 3 seeds.

Distribution : A tropical plant. Seed need temperatures above 24°C and plants need temperatures above 10°C. Plants are damaged by frost. They need well drained fertile soil. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In XTBG Yunnan

Jasminum sambac

Edible : Flowers (flavoring), Spice

A shrub. It grows 1-3 m high. It climbs. The leaves are opposite. They are oval and 3-12 cm long by 2-7.5 cm wide. The leaf stalk is 5-10 mm long. The leaves are papery. There are 4-6 veins on either side of the main vein. The flower group is at the end of branches. There are 3-9 flowers together. The flowers are white and have a sweet smell. There are many petals and they are rounded. The fruit is a berry which is purple black and round. It is about 1 cm across.

Distribution : It is a tropical plant. It is widely cultivated in China. It is moderately salt tolerant. It needs regular moisture and an average, welldrained soil. It needs full sun. It needs a temperature above 13-15°C. In XTBG Yunnan. It suits hardiness zones 10-12

Ficus racemosa

Edible : Fruit, Leaves, Spice, Flavoring, Flowers

A fig. It is an medium sized evergreen spreading tree. Plants can loose many leaves during the dry season. It grows to 12-20 m high and spreads to 5-10 m across. The trunk can be 60-90 cm across. The stem is erect and branching. There are often buttresses at the base. The bark is smooth and pale grey. It does not have aerial or strangling roots. The leaves are produced alternately. They are oval and taper towards the tip. They are 7-22 cm long and 3-9 cm across. The leaf stalk is 1-6 cm long. Flowers are very small and male and female flowers are enclosed in the fig receptacle. The fruit are large fleshy yellow and red figs. They are 5 cm across. They occur in dense clusters on the trunk and main branches. They are velvety when young and become smooth with age. When ripe they often split open. There are some varieties named based on the hairiness of the young parts. The figs are edible.

Distribution : It is a tropical plant. It does best in humus rich, moist soil. It needs to be well drained. It suits a sheltered sunny position. It is damaged by drought and frost. It occurs naturally along the banks of lowland freshwater streams in the monsoonal vine forests. It can cope with being flooded for short periods. In Nepal it grows up to 1000 m altitude. In Sikkim it grows between 400-1,000 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 9-12. In Yunnan

Ficus religiosa

A fig. It is a deciduous tree. It grows to 35 m tall. The crown is one. It has fibrous aerial rots. The trunk can be 30-40 cm across. When young it grows living on and attached to other plants. The bark is grey and smooth with cracks along it. The young branches has some hairs. The leaf stalk is thin and up to 15 cm long. The leaves are alternate. The leaf blade is triangle shaped or oval and 9-17 cm long by 8-12 cm wide. They are wavy and thinly leathery. They are shiny above. They are reddish when young. They have 5-7 main veins. The base is heart shaped. The tip of the leaf is long and thread like. There are 5-7 secondary veins on each side of the midrib. Flowers are borne inside the figs. Both male and female flowers occur and the male flowers are few and near the opening. The figs are round but flattened. They do not have stalks and occur in pairs. They are dark purple when ripe.

Distribution : A tropical and subtropical plant. It often grows attached to other plants on rock walls and steep slopes. They are common all over India. It is a tropical and subtropical plant. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In XTBG Yunnan

Acacia mangium

Edible : Roots, Seeds, Vegetable

A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.

Distribution : A tropical plant. A native of Queensland Australia. It occurs across SE Asia to Malaysia. It prefers medium to heavy soils. It needs a protected shady position. It is drought resistant and can tolerate waterlogging. It is probably damaged by frost. It suits high rainfall areas. It grows up to 195 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 11-12

Samanea saman

Edible : Pod pulp, Leaves, Fruit, Seeds-Spice

A large tree with a widely spreading crown. It grows up to 25 m tall. It can grow to 60 m high. It has a short thick trunk. The branches spread out horizontally and can be 30 m long. The bark is a distinctive yellow. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves have leaflets which are evenly in two rows. They are feather like. There are 8 to 12 leaflets in a row. There are 12 to 16 in the upper row. The leaves fold inwards at night and during rain. The leaves can be 35 cm long. The secondary division of the leaf can be 20 cm long and the leaflets 3 cm by 2 cm. The flowers are at the ends of branches and pink. They occur in round heads about 5 cm across. They are on long stalks 10-12 cm long. The fruit are pods. The pods are straight and somewhat fleshy. The pods can be 20 cm long by 2 cm across. The pods are slightly flattened.

Distribution : A tropical plant. It is native to tropical America. Common and widely planted as a shade tree. Trees grow almost wild in some areas and are planted as a street tree in coastal towns. It suits river-side locations in dry areas. It should grow up to about 1800 m altitude in the equatorial tropics. It grows best in the tropical lowlands from sea level to 300 m altitude and with a rainfall of 600 -3000 mm per year. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 10-12

Other Names :

Akasya, Akasya, Belati siris, Bhalimora, Bodu gas, Campano, Carabeli, Cenizaro, Chaam-churii, Cong, Cow tamarind, Filiganga, French tamarind, Genixaro, Gouannegoul, Gumorni spanis, Hujan-hujan, Jahmjuree, Kasia kula, Kayu hujan, Khirish, Marmar, Mohemohe, Monkey Pod, 'ohai, Pukul lima, Reethigas, Saman, Sirsa, Tamaligi, Tamalini, Thinbaw-kokko, Tikpikung, Trong-kon-mames, Vaivai ni vavalangi,

Synonyms

Acacia propinqua A. Rich.;
Albizia saman (Jacq.) F.Muell;
Calliandra saman (Jacq.) Griseb.;
Enterolobium saman (Jacquin) Prain. ex King;
Feuilleea saman (Jacq.) Kuntze;
Inga cinerea Willd.;
Inga salutaris Kunth.;
Inga saman Jacquin;
Mimosa pubifera Poiret;
Mimosa saman Jacq.;
Pithecellobium cinereum Benth.;