Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets

Persicaria hydropiper

Edible: Leaves, Seeds, Leaves - spice, Leaves - tea

An annual herb. The stems are erect and curve upwards. It can be 80-100 cm tall. The stem has many branches. It forms roots at the nodes. The nodes are enlarged and they have a red ring at the base. The leaves are alternate and narrowly sword shaped. They have glands. The leaves narrow towards their base. The leaves have a peppery taste when chewed. There is a stipule or leaf like structures at the base of the leaf stalk. This has bristles. The leaf stalk is 2-5 mm long. The blade is sword shaped and 2-8 cm long by 0.5-2 cm wide. The flowers are in a slender spike. The spike is spread along the stalk. It tends to bend over. The flowering shoots can be 17 cm long. The individual flowers are small and white. There are 2 subspecies suited to temperate and tropical locations.

It is a temperate plant. It grows in shallow water along the edges of creeks and rivers. It grows in wetlands. It grows in open waste places. It suits sunny wet locations. It can grow from the seashore to 1500 m altitude. Tasmania Herbarium. In Yunnan. In Sichuan.

Common Names: Water pepper, Marshpepper Smartweed, Agagat, An ji ba qian, Behu, Bislangi, Buding, Cacabean, Chaokhong, Common smartweed, Daun senahun, Ganeri, Ngh(eer) n(uw)(ows)c, Ngh(eer) r(aw)m, Numshim-muk, Packur mul, Pani-maricha, Papreni lisac, Pha chi mi, Phak phai nam, Pungent smartweed, Ram-nuoc, Ratnaulo, Rumput tuboh, Si tuba sawah, Smartweed, Tade, Tuba, Tube seluwang, Water pepper, Yanagi-tade

Synonyms: 

Persicaria acris Gilib.;
Persicaria hydropiper (L.) Opiz;
Persicaria hydropiper (L.) Spach;
Persicaria vernalis Nakai;
Peutalis hydropiper Raf.;
Polygonum hecasanthum Schur;
Polygonum hydropiper L.;
Polygonum koreense Nakai;
Polygonum obtusifolium Schur;
Polygonum oleraceum Schur.;
Polygonum shinzii J. Schust.;

Persicaria odorata

Edible: Leaves, Herb

A leafy creeping plant which continues to grow from year to year. It forms roots at the nodes. The stems are reddish and have joints where the leaves join. These are 1-5 cm apart. The stems can be 35 cm high. The leaves are 5-8 cm long and sword shaped. They are green in colour with brown or red marks on the top surface. The flowers are small and pink and are produced at the end of the stems.

A warm temperate to subtropical plant. It does well with lots of water. It can grow under shady conditions. It can grow in heavy soil. It can be grown in pots and hanging baskets. It suits warm or tropical conditions and cannot survive frost. It needs fertile well drained soil. It suits hardiness zones 8-10.

Common Names: Vietnamese mint, Vietnamese coriander, Amadokoro, Asian mint, Cambodian mint, Chan chom, Chi krasang tomhom, Coriandre du Vietnam, Daun kesom, Daun kesum, Daun laksa, Hom chan, Hot mint, Knotweed, La liao, Laksa Blatt, Laksa leaf, Paew, Pakpai, Phak phai, Phak pheo, Phrik maa, Phud phaeng, Rau Ram, Rau ram, Vietnamese coriander

Synonyms: 

Polygonum odoratum Lour.;

Petroselinum crispum

Edible: Leaves, Herb, Spice, Vegetable, Seeds

A short lived perennial plant. Often it grows and flowers over two years. It forms clumps and is a hairless plant. It has stems up to 50 cm long which are upright and with grooves. They branch. Several stems come from the top of the fattened taproot. It spreads to 50 cm across. The leaflets are finely divided. They are feather like and dark green. They are triangular and divided 3 times. They are divided into toothed segments about 3 cm long. They have a strong smell. The flowers are greenish white and star shaped. They occur at the ends of branches. The flowers are flat topped and up to 4 cm across. There are about 30 variations of curled parsley. Some are more tightly curled than others.
Wild parsley also occurs in some temperate places. It can be cooked and eaten.

A temperate plant. It can be grown from sea level up to 2400 m altitude in the tropics. It grows best in moderately cool, shady and humid conditions. It can grow well in full sunlight but also in slight shade. Young plants can be damaged by frost. It is best with a pH of 5.0-6.0. It suits hardiness zones 7-9.

Common Names: Parsley, Achu mooda, Faan uen sai, Fan yan sui, Julivert, Maydanoz, Okhrakhushi, Patraseli, Peregil, Perejil, Persil, Persille, Petersilie, Pletik apu, Potrasoli, Pravi peteršilj, Prezzemolo, Salsa, Salsinha

Synonyms: Apium crispum Mill.;
Apium petroselinum L.;
Petroselinum hortense Hoffm.;
Petroselinum sativum Hoffm.;
Petroselinum vulgare Lag.;
Crispum petroselinum;
and others
 

Phaseolus coccineus

Edible: Seeds, Pods, Leaves, Roots, Vegetable, Flowers

A climbing bean. It is a robust plant and keeps growing from year to year by re-growing from the fattened root. The stems are often hairy. It grows 1.8-2.4 m high. It can spread 1.8-2.4 m wide. It twines around a trellis. The leaves are compound and have three leaflets. The flowers are bright red. They are in clusters 2.5 cm long. The pods are long (30 cm) and with a wavy edge. The seeds are large and can be several different colours. It sometimes has a root tuber.

A tropical plant. It grows naturally in the mountain regions from Mexico to Panama. It is grown in the highlands in the tropics. On the tropical coast seedlings die and pods are not formed. It is damaged by frost. It suits hardiness zones 8-10. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Common Names: Scarlet runner bean, Ayacote, Botil, Chamborote, Chilipuca, Climat, Cub, Cubaces, Dau son, Dutch caseknipe bean, Ejote, Fagioli rampicante di Spagna, Frejol de castilla, Frejol de monte, Frijol chamborote, Hana mame, Haricot d'Espagne, Kacang besar, Koto moruk, Laški fižol, Patol, Poroto chileno, Seven year bean, Shim

Synonyms: 

Phaseolus multiflorus Willd.;
Phaseolus coccineus var. zongolicensis Freytag, nom. inval.;
Phaseolus multiflorus Lam.;

Phaseolus lunatus

Edible: Seeds, Leaves, Pods, Vegetable, Flowers

A perennial climbing bean. It is often a tall vigorously climbing plant which can keep growing for some years. The leaves are slightly rounded at the base and pointed at the tip. The flower is white or yellow. The keel of the flower is twisted which helps tell the difference between this bean and Lablab bean. The pods are long (10 cm), flattened and curved and have 3-4 seeds which are very variable in colour. The seeds are large. The seeds have a short round hilum where the seed is attached to the pod. The seeds also have lines going out from this point across the bean seed.

It suits warm and subtropical areas. In the tropics it is common between 500 and 2100 m altitude but grows to the limit of cultivation (2700 m). For germination it must have a soil temperature above 15.5°C and cannot withstand frost. In very hot weather seeds often do not set. It does best in a temperature range 14-21°C. It is sensitive to a pH less than 6. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 8-11. In Yunnan.

Common Names: Lima bean, Abongband, Agwa, Akbaka, Akpatramo, Amaijalero, Apteram, Awuje, Behna, Beloi, Butter bean, Civet bean, Ckuku, Daful, Dau bach-bien, Dau-diem, Dau-ngu, Ebigaaga, Ewuje, Feijao-magalo, Frejol de manteca, Frijol caballero, Haba, Haba pallar, Habilla, Htawbat-pe, Kachang china, Kachang jawa, Kachang mas, Kachang serendeng, Kal-beir-kan, Kara, Kawl-be, Kekara, Khasi kollu, Korokoco, Kpokpo, Kratok, Limski fižol, Lobia, Lobiya, Muma kedeba, Obuhindhini, Obuyindiyindi, Okuku, Onguk, Orusa, Patani, Pe-bra, Pe-byu-gyi, Pe-gya, Roway, Santagu-pe, Sem, Sieva Bean, Taipee, Tim-sin, Torta, Tua rachamat, Tunoran, Wake

Synonyms: 

Phaseolus bipunctatus Jacq.;
Phaseolus inamoenus L.;
Phaseolus limensis Macfad.;
Phaseolus lunatus var. macrocarpus Benth.;
Phaseolus portoricensis Sprengel;
Phaseolus puberulus Kunth;
Phaseolus saccharatus Macfad.;
Phaseolus tonkinensis Lour.;
Phaseolus zuaresii Zuccagni;

Phaseolus vulgaris

Edible: Pods, Seeds, Leaves, Vegetable

This bean has very many varieties and varies a lot in details. Both short and climbing cultivated varieties of this bean occur. It has a long taproot. Climbing forms can be 2-3 m tall. Bush types are 20-60 cm tall. The leaves are carried one after another along the stem and the leaves have 3 leaflets. The leaf stalk has a groove on the top. The side leaflets are asymmetrical in shape. The leaflets can be 8-15 cm by 5-10 cm. The flowers are in the axils of leaves and have few flowers in a loose form. Flowers are white to purple and pods smooth. Pods are slender and 8-20 cm long by 1-1.5 cm wide. The pods are straight or slightly curved and with a beak at the end. Pods often have 10-12 seeds which are kidney shaped and coloured. There are more than 500 cultivated varieties.

A temperate plant. It mostly grows from 700 m to 2000 m altitude in the tropics. In the lowlands it suffers from pest and disease but it can be grown to sea level. It is not suited to the wet tropics. It is shallow rooted and therefore damaged by excess moisture near the roots. About 350 mm of water is enough for a crop life cycle. It is sensitive to frost and to high temperatures. Flowers will not form below 9.5°C and night temperatures above 37°C cause flowers to drop. The best temperature is 15-21°C. It does not suit very acid soils. In Nepal it grows up to 1200 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 8-11.

Common Names: Common bean, Affi, Alatram, Asare simi, Ashlan bu'ul, Babri, Bakia, Bakla, Barigalu, Binisi, Black beans, Bonchi, Bo-sa-pe, Buli, Cannellini bean, Chiclayo, Ebihimba, Ebijanjaalo, Ebikanga, Ebisobooza, Ebisobyo, Ejote, Fagiolo, Fasiole, Feijao-preto, Frash bean, French bean, Frijol, Green bean, Habi cheulas, Haricot bean, Hto-pe-ton, Ingem mame, Ingen mame, Judia, Kacang buncis, Kachang bunchis, Kachang pendek, Kidney bean, Lobia, Mahalagi, Makasikila, Malemba, Marakwa, Mattu wanyambi, Mete-beir, Mulu fintsumu, Navy bean, Ngaingai, Ngor, Noviya, Nyemba, Phanasi, Pini, Pinto beans, Poroto, Po to sa, Pra-say-taut, Purutu, Rajama, Rajmah, Rajma sibi, Sanndaek barang, Shravanghevda, Snijboon, Stapu, Ta-la-pe, Te bin, Teiko, Thia khaek, Tingalavari, To-tok, Tsai douk, Tsaramaso, Turtle bean, Wamolo

Synonyms: 

Phaseolus compressus DC.;
Phaseolus compressus var. carneus G. Martens;
Phaseolus compressus var. cervinus G. Martens;
Phaseolus compressus var. ferrugineus G. Martens;
Phaseolus ellipticus var. albus G. Martens;
Phaseolus ellipticus var. aureolus G. Martens;
Phaseolus ellipticus var. helvolus Savi;
Phaseolus ellipticus var. mesomelos Haberle;
Phaseolus ellipticus var. pictus Caval.;
Phaseolus ellipticus var. spadiceus G. Martens;
Phaseolus gonospermus var. oryzoides G. Martens;
Phaseolus gonospermus var. variegatus Savi;
Phaseolus nanus Linn.
Phaseolus oblongus var. albus G. Martens;
Phaseolus oblongus var. spadiceus Savi;
Phaseolus oblongus var. zebrinus G. Martens;
Phaseolus sphaericus var. atropurpureus G. Martens;
Phaseolus sphaericus var. minor G. Martens;
Phaseolus vulgaris var. albus Haberle;
Phaseolus vulgaris var. nanus G. Martens;
Phaseolus vulgaris var. niger G. Martens;
Phaseolus vulgaris var. ochraceus Savi;
Phaseolus vulgaris var. variegatus DC.;
Phaseolus zebra var. carneus G. Martens;
Phaseolus zebra var. purpurascens G. Martens;

Phyllanthus urinaria

Edible: Leaves, Leaves - tea

A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 10-30 cm high. The leaves are simple and alternate. They are 6-12 mm long by 4-6 mm wide The male flowers are in clusters in the axils of leaves. The female flowers occur singly in the lower axils. The flowers are green and cream. The fruit have 6 shallow lobes. The fruit are 2.5 mm across.

It is a tropical plant. It grows near river flats and on alluvial soil. It grows along the sides of marshy areas. In Fiji it grows from sea level up to 1,130 m altitude. In China it grows in dry fields and on the edges of forests between 100-600 m above sea level. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Common Names: Leaf-Blossum, Chakpa-heikru, Cho de, Choi aei, Chuosh-engchuan, Gripe weed, Hazarmani, Keezhamelli, Meyyalunboa, Mye-shit-sha, Mye-ziphyu, Shatterstone, Sohlhu, Yajinlong, Zhu zai cao

Synonyms: 

Diasperus urinaria (L.) Kuntze;
Phyllanthus alatus Blume;
Phyllanthus cantoniensis Hornem.;
and others

Phytolacca americana

Edible: Fruit, Leaves, Stem, Vegetable

A herb. It grows to 4 m tall. The root is thick and cone shaped. The stems are erect. The leaf stalk is 1-4 cm long. The leaf blade is oval and 9-18 cm long by 5-10 cm wide. The base is wedge shaped and it tapers to a short tip. The flower racemes can be at the end of branches or on the side. They are 5-20 cm long. The flowers are white and slightly red. The fruiting stalk hangs down. The fruit is a berry which is oblong and purple black when mature. The seeds are kidney shaped and 3 mm across.

It is a temperate climate plant. It is cultivated in China. It suits hardiness zones 5-9. In Yunnan. In Sichuan.

Common Names: Pokeweed, Alkormos, Bledo, Capa-rosa, Chui xu shang lu, Gorget, Inkberry, Jabonera, Kusuzumu, Navadna barvilnica, Pigeon berry, Pocan, Poke, Pokeberry, Pokeroot, Red Ink Plant, Scoke, Sekerciboyast, Skoke, Thuongluc my, Uva-macaco

Synonyms: 

Phytolacca decandra L.;

Piper betle

Edible: Leaves, Fruit

A woody vine which attaches to trees by roots at the nodes on the main vine. The vegetative branches form roots at the nodes but the fruiting branches do not. The stems are 2.5-5 mm thick. The leaf stalk is 2-5 cm long. It has a fine powdery covering. The leaves can be 7-15 cm long and 5-11 cm wide. The leaves are papery or slightly leathery. The flowers are separately male and female. Male spikes are thinner and longer than female. The spikes droop. The fruit is composed of fused parts making a compound fruit.

A tropical plant. It occurs in the lowlands and up to about 700 m altitude. It needs a reasonably good rainfall. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. At MARDI.

Common Names: Betel pepper, Akabui, Amasi katu, Fa qie wei niu, Gabuuy, Hirata, Igisi, Kata, Kebui, Kubaha, Kun, Kun-ywet-pin, Kura, Lou ye, Loupita, Manavasa, Mithi, Nagavalli, Nagurvel, Nup, Ofa, Ofa, Paan, Pan, Pan pata, Panpatta, Pathi, Pita, Plobo, Pupulu, Sanga, Sarapa, Sirih, Sla-tympew, Tamalapaku, Tambula, Tambuli, Trau khong, Vettila, Vettilai, Videchapana, Vilayadele, Vuvulu

Synonyms: 

Chavica betle Miq.;

Piper longum

Edible: Fruit, Herb, Spice, Leaves

A twining herb. It can be several metres long. It is creeping or climbing and forms roots below. The leaves often have small hairs. The branches are smooth. The leaves have stalks. The leaf blade is 3-12 cm long by 2-12 cm wide. They are broadly oval to heart shaped. They taper to a short tip. The lower leaves have long stalks. The upper leaves do not have stalks and clasp the stem. There are usually 5 veins at the base. The flowers are green. They are opposite the leaves. The male spike is 5.5 cm long and 3 mm wide. The female spike is 1.5-1.5 cm long and 2.5-4 mm wide. The fruit is a berry. The berries stick to the axis or central stalk.

A tropical and subtropical plant. In Nepal it grows to about 800 m altitude. In China it grows at about 600 m altitude in Yunnan. It is cultivated in other provinces in the south. In XTBG Yunnan.

Common Names: Long pepper, Indian long pepper, Bi ba, Bithipokang, Fanfeuwali, Hippali, Jaborandi pepper, Janli pan, Kandan, Lahare pan, Likadu, Magadhi, Nallamulagu, Nga-yok-kaung, Paik-chin, Peepla, Peli ja, Phrik haang, Pimpli, Pimpoli, Pipal, Pipala, Pipali, Pipla, Piplamor, Piplamul, Pipli, Pipoli, Pippali, Pippili, Pippuloo, Pipul, Punthong, Singmalta, Siramulam, Tieu dai, Tieu lot, Tippili, Tieu dai

Synonyms: 

Chavica roxburghii Miquel;
According to PROSEA Piper longum does not occur in Malesia and has been confused with P. sarmentosa