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
Selenicereus undatus - Dragon Fruit
Edible Poriton: Fruit, Seeds, Flowers, Vegetable, Stems
A cactus which climbs. It has triangular stalks. Stalks can be 7 m long. It grows in soil and on rotting plant material. It has aerial roots enabling it to climb. The stems have joints and branched. The spine spots are spaced along the edge of the stems. They have a few short, dark spines. The flowers are white but yellowish-green on the outside and open at night. They are 30 cm long. The fruit are round and red, with long scales. Some varieties are pink or yellow. The skin is thin. The flesh is white with small black seeds.
Inga edulis - Ice-Cream Bean
Edible Portion: Pod Pulp, Fruit, Aril
A medium to large tree. It can be 10-20 m high. The trunk is 35-40 cm wide. The leaves are compound. They are 10-25 cm cm long. There are 4-6 pairs of leaflets. The flowers are near the ends of branches. The fruit is a long pod. It can be 1 m long and 2.5-3 cm wide. It is green. The pulp is bright white.
Litchi chinensis - Litchi, Lychee
Edible Portion: Fruit, Aril
A medium sized evergreen tree. It grows up to 15 m tall but can be 35 m tall. It has a dense round crown. The trunk is smooth and grey with brittle trunk and branches. The trunk can be 1 m across. Leaves are shiny and light green. The leaves are reddish when young. They are leathery and divided into 4-8 leaflets. The leaflets are oval and taper to the tip. The flowers are pale green and in loosely branched groups at the ends of branches. It bears bunches of rough skinned pinkish fruit 3-4 cm across. These droop in clusters. There are 3 subspecies ssp. chinensis, ssp. philippinensis, ssp. javensis. There are many cultivated varieties.
Mammea americana - Mamey, Mammea
Edible Portion: Fruit
A medium sized evergreen tree. It grows 20-25 m tall. The leaves are glossy and oval. They are 10-20 cm long by 5-10 cm wide. The leaves are thick and have many parallel veins. Trees may have male and female flowers or they can be on separate trees. The flowers are showy and white. They are 5 cm across. The fruit is large, round, brown and sweet. They are 10-20 cm across. The skin is rough and leathery. It is about 3 mm thick. The flesh is deep orange. There are 4 seeds.
Monstera deliciosa - Ceriman, Monsteria
Edible Portion: Fruit
A woody climber with large leaves with natural holes. It attaches itself to trees by roots at the nodes and climbs up to 15-20 m high. The stem is stout and crooked. The have a few branches. The leaves are glossy green. The leaves are divided around the edge. The leaves are 30-90 cm across. Young leaves are usually on shorter stalks, smaller and entire. The flowers are lily like and green. It has long (20-40 cm) cone like fruit.
Morus nigra - Persian Mulberry, Black Mulberry
Edible Portion: Fruit, leaves
A deciduous tree. It is a medium sized tree which grows 10-12 m high. The trunk is short and then branches widely. It has an extensive root system. The bark is dark brown. The young branches are hairy. The leaf stalk is 1.5-2.5 cm long. The leaf blade is oval and 6-12 cm long by 7-11 cm wide. The flowers are small and greenish. The fruit is blackish purple when mature. It is 2 -2.5 cm long by 1.5-2.5 cm wide.
Murraya koenigii - Curry Leaf Tree
Edible Portion: Leaves, Fruit, Herb, Spice, Vegetable, Flowers
A shrub 1-2 m high. It can grow 4-10 m high. It loses its leaves during the year. The trunk is slender and flexible. The leaves have stalks. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. These are alternate and have stalks. There are 11-15 or more leaflets. The leaves are unequal in shape. They have glands dotted on them. The leaves can be 3-7 cm long by 1-2 cm wide. The leaves are shiny and bright green on top and dull and paler underneath. They eventually turn yellow and fall. In the tropics leaves can be available all year. The flowers have stalks. They are white. They occur in loose flower clusters. These are at the ends of branches. The fruit are oval and bluish-black.
Murraya paniculata - Orange Jessamine, Satinwood Tree
Edible Portion: Fruit, Flowers, Leaves, Spice
A shrub or small evergreen tree. It grows to 5 m high and spreads to 3 m across. The branches are grey and slender. The leaves are alternate and scattered. The leaves are compound with 2-8 leaflets. Leaves are 8 to 15 cm long and smooth. The leaflets are in pairs or alternately and are oblong and tapering bluntly. The flowers are white and few. They are star-shaped or bell shaped and with a sweet smell. The fruit are oval, fleshy and orange or red. They are 1.25 cm long and normally contain 2 seeds.
Myrciaria glomerata - Cabelluda, Cabelludo
Edible Portion: Fruit
A shrub or small tree. It grows 8 m tall. It can have several thin trunks. The fruit are small and yellow with a sweet pulp. They are 2 cm across. They have 2 seeds.
Olea europaea - Olive
Edible Portion: Fruit, Herb, Spice, Manna, Leaves, Oil
A medium sized evergreen tree. It grows to 16 m high and can spread to 10 m wide. The trunk is often gnarled and twisted. The leaves are greyish-green. They are feather shaped and grow opposite each other. Leaves are replaced every two or three years. The flowers are small and cream coloured. They are on long stems in the axils of leaves but are hidden by the leaves. Some flowers contain both male and female parts while others are male only. Pollination is by wind but most olives are self pollinated. Fruit set is better with cross pollination and some varieties can only be cross pollinated. The fruit is small and green or black and oily. The shape, size and colour of fruit vary with variety.
