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 Issues in this Publication (Showing issues 8000 - 8000) Previous | Next
Chimonobambusa marmorea - Marble Sheath Bamboo, Winter Shooting Bamboo
Edible Portion: Seeds, Stem, Cereal, Shoots
A bushy bamboo. It grows 2-3 m high. The stems are slender and black. They are 1-2 cm across. The young shoots are creamy purple. The leaves are 6-15 cm long by 8-12 mm wide. They do not have hairs.
Chimonobambusa purpurea - Black Thorny Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It grows 4-8 m tall. The culms are 2-5 cm across. The internodes are green and 18 cm long. There are 2 or 3 leaves on the furthest branch. The leaf blade is narrowly oval and 5-19 cm long by 1-2 cm wide.
Chimonobambusa quadrangularis - Square-Stemmed Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It can be 10 m tall. The culms have prominent nodes. Mature culms are almost square in cross section. New culms are purple. The culms are 5 cm across. There are spines which curve backwards near the base.
Chimonobambusa metuoensis - Tibetan Square Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It grows 5-7 m high. The culms are 1-3 cm across. There are 20-35 internodes. The lower ones are 4 sided. The leaf blades are sword shaped and 12-33 cm long by 2-4 cm wide.
Chimonobambusa pachystachys - Ci Fang Zhu, Thorny Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots, Seeds, Cereal
A bamboo. It grows 3-7 m tall. The stems are 1-3 cm across. The internodes are 15-22 cm long. They have brown hairs when young. There are root thorns in a ring on the lower stems.
Chimonobambusa szechuanensis - Sichuan Square Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots, Vegetable
A bamboo. It grows 3-4 m tall. The stems are 2 cm across. The internodes are 18-22 cm long. They are grooved and ridged above the branches. The nodes near the base have a ring of root thorns. There are 3 branches per node. There are 1-3 leaves on the last branch. The leaf blade is 18-20 cm long by 1-2 cm wide.
Chimonobambusa utilis - Jinfoshan Square Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It grows 5-7 m tall. The culms are 2-4 cm across. The internodes are 20-30 cm long. There are 2 leaves on the last branch. They are 14-16 cm long by 2-3 cm wide.
Chloothamnus elatus - Bamboo, New Guinea Edible Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A large bamboo with stalks 20 m long and 5 -6 cm across. The leaves are fine and narrow. It produces large clumps.
Dendrocalamus brandisii - Brandisii Bamboo, Velvet Leaf Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A loosely tufted bamboo. The culm is erect and the tip hangs over. The stem or culm can be 30 m high. They are 15-20 cm across at the base. The wall is 2.5-4 cm thick. They are greenish-grey. The internodes are 30-60 cm long. There is a shiny brown line of hairs below and above the node. The nodes are slightly swollen. There are aerial roots in the lower nodes. There can be branches from the middle of the culm. The culm sheath is 40-60 cm long by 20-35 cm wide. It is longer than the internodes. The leaf blade is sword shaped and 20-30 cm long by 2.5-5 cm wide. It is pale green on the upper surface.
Dendrocalamus giganteus - Giant Bamboo, Dragon Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A clump forming bamboo. It can be 25-30-50 m tall. It has rhizomes which spread. The clumps can be 10-15 m wide. The canes can be 35 cm across. They are erect and jointed. The nodes are hairy. The leaf blades are sword shaped and smooth with fine teeth along the edge. The leaves can be 55 cm long. These clasp the canes at their base. The flower is a long panicle which droops.
