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 Matoleo katika Chapisho hili (Inaonyesha masuala 5000 - 5000) Iliyopita | Kifuatacho
Citrofortunella sp. x Fortunella crassifolia - Orangequats
Edible Portion: Fruit
An artificial hybrid plant between a kumquat and a mandarin. The fruit tastes like a kumquat.
Citrus glauca - Australian Desert Lime, Native Cumquat
Edible Portion: Fruit
A medium sized shrub or small tree. It often has several stems and grows up to 2-3 m high. It can be up to 12 m high and 1-3 m across. The bark is brown and cracked. The new shoots are angular. The stems are spiny. The leaves are 1-5 cm long by 0.2 -0.4 cm wide. They are narrow and spoon shaped. The leaves have a blue-grey colour. The flowers are 1-1.3 cm across. They are white or green and have a sweet scent. The fruit is round to oval and about 2 cm across. The skin of the fruit is light yellow green. It contains large oil glands. The fruit are often seedless. The seeds have furrows along them.
Citrus hystrix - Wild lime, Kaffir lime
Edible Portion: Leaves, Fruit, Spice
A low shrubby tree up to 6 or 8 m high. The trunk is thin and crooked. It has slender sharp thorns. The leaf petiole has very large lobes. The leaf is oval. The leaves can be 8-15 cm long by 3-5 cm wide including the leafy stalks. The leaves are dark green and shiny above and pale and matt underneath. The flowers are small and white. The fruit are small (8 cm across) with a rough, thick skin and very little edible pulp inside. They are very acid. The peel of the fruit is very fragrant.
Citrus japonica - Hong Kong Wild Kumquat
Edible Portion: Fruit
A shrub which keeps its leaves all year round. It grows about 2-4 m tall. It is spiny. The leaves are a narrow oval shape. They taper sharply at both ends. The leaf stalks have wings. The flowers are white, short and broad. The fruit are a flattened round shape. They are 1-2 cm across. They have 3-4 segments. The fruit become a bright orange when ripe.
Citrus japonica cv crassifolia - Large Round Kumquat
Edible Portion: Fruit
A shrub or small tree. It often lacks thorns. The leaves are thick and rigid and often folded lengthwise. They have many dark green oil glands. The leaves are small. The leaf stalks have narrow wings. The fruit are oval or almost round. The fruit is small, orange and sweet. They are 3-4 cm across. The skin is edible. The fruit have about 7 segments.
Citrus japonica cv japonica - Kumquat, Round Kumquat
Edible Portion: Fruit
A small evergreen tree. It is thorny. It grows to about 4 m high. The leaves are simple and entire. They are up to 7 cm long. They have blunt tips. They are leathery. The flowers are white. The fruit are 3 cm across. They are smooth and shiny. They are divided into 4-7 compartments. They are yellow. The skin is thin and waxy and is spicy.
Citrus japonica cv margarita - Kumquat, Oval Kumquat
Edible Portion: Fruit, Herb, Flavouring, Peel
An evergreen shrub up to 4 m high. It spreads to 2 m across. The stem is slender and branching. It has a rounded crown. It has spiny branches and shiny oval leaves with pointed tips. The leaves are leathery. Flowers are white with 5 petals. They occur singly and have a perfume. Fruit are very small and about 2.5 cm across. They are divided into only 3-6 sections. There are 2-5 seeds.
Citrus latifolia - Bears' Lime, Tahitian Lime, Persian
Edible Portion: Fruit
A small evergreen tree. It is almost thornless. It grows 1.8-4.5 m high. The branches droop. The leaves have broad, flat-winged leaf stalks. Young leaves are mauve. The flowers have a purple tinge and have a scent. They occur throughout the year. The fruit is medium sized, green and very sour. The fruit are round. They are 3-4 cm across. They can be 8-10 cm across. The skin is thin and smooth. The skin remains bright green when ripe. The pulp is green and seedless.
Citrus paradisi - Grapefruit
Edible Portin: Fruit, Herb
Probably a natural hybrid between sweet orange and pomelo. A medium sized evergreen tree up to 10-15 m high. They spread 5 m across. The stem is stout and crooked. The branches hang down giving a rounded crown. The thorns are small. The leaves are dark shiny green and sword shaped. They can be 18 cm long. The leaves are leathery and they have rounded teeth along the edge. The leaf stalk usually has a broad wing. The flowers are creamy white and large. The flowers occur either singly or in clusters (2-20) in the axils of leaves. The flowers are 4-5 cm across. The fruit are large, yellow and in clusters. Fruit can be 9-15 cm across. Fruit are very juicy with a sweet-sour pulp. The juice sacs are large but closely packed. There are many cultivated varieties.
Citrus swinglei - Malayan Kumquat, Hedge Lime
Edible Portion: Fruit, Spice
The plant grows 1-5 m high. It can be grown in a pot as a small plant. The plants have thorns and the leaves are long and narrow and do not have a citrus smell. The flowers are white and have a smell. They appear in clusters of 1-5. The fruit are round and 2.5 cm across. The skin is smooth soft and shiny. Fruit are green but turn yellow when ripe.
