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
797 Issues in this Publication (Showing issues 6000 - 5000) Previous | Next
Albizia lucidior - Potka Siris Tree
Edible Portion: Seeds, Leaves
A tall tree. It grows 40 m tall. The crown is dark green. The bark is thin and grey. The leaves are divided with leaflets along the stalk. There are 1-4 pairs of leaflets. These are 5-10 cm long by 2-4 cm wide and the top ones are the largest. The flowers are in groups of 6-10 in heads. The flowers are small. The clusters are at the ends of twigs. The fruit is 10-30 cm long by 3-4 cm wide. There are 2-10 round dark brown seeds.
Cedrela odorata - Barbadoes Cedar, Cigar-Box Wood
Edible Portion: Leaves
A tree. It grows 18 m high and spreads 4.5 m wide. The trunk can be 1.5 m across. It has large buttresses. It has an open canopy. The bark is grey or brown and furrowed. The lower limbs curve down. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. The leaves are 60 cm long. There are 5-12 pairs of leaflets. The flowers are separately male and female but on the same plant. The flowers are small and tube shaped and cream or green. They are in hanging clusters at the ends of branches. The clusters are 15-50 cm long.
Stevia rebaudiana - Stevia, Sweet Herb Of Paraguay, Sugar-l
Edible Portion: Leaves
A perennial shrub. It grows to 0.5-1 m tall. Plants are clumpy bushes about 75 cm high and 60 cm wide. The leaves are 2-3 cm long. They are small, oblong and have teeth around the edge. The flower heads are on the tips of stems. They are in clusters and are white. The fruit are very small and have one seed. They have feathery
Tagetes erecta - African Marigold
Edible Portion: Leaves
A herb. It grows 0.5-1 m tall. It grows from seed each year. The stems are angular and green. The leaves are deeply lobed. The lobes are along the stalk. They also have coarse, sharp teeth. The flower heads are single. They have long stalks and are yellow. The fruit is dry.
Afzelia xylocarpa - Rosewood
Edible Portion: Leaves, Seeds
A tree. It grows to 30 m high. It loses its leaves during the year. The trunk is stout and up to 1 m across. The crown is rounded.
The tree is usually divided near the base into large spreading branches. The bark is pale grey and slightly rough. The leaves are
18-25 cm long with 3-5 pairs of opposite leaflets. These are 5-9 cm long by 4-5 cm wide. The flowers are about 3 cm across and
in branched clusters at the ends of the twigs. They have bright green sepals and one bright red petals. The fruit is a pod 12-20
cm long by 7-9 cm wide and dull brown. It split into 2 sections with 2-4 seeds.
Moringa oleifera - Moringa
Edible Portion: Leaves, Flowers, Fruit, Seeds, Roots, Bark, Pods, Spice, Vegetable
A small tree up to 9-12 m high. The trunk is 60 cm across. The wood is soft. It has feather-like divided leaves. The tree loses its leaves during the year. The bark is grey and thick. It is corky and peels off in patches. The leaves are pale green and the leaf is divided 3 times. The whole leaf is 30-60 cm long and the leaflets are usually oval and 1-2 cm long. The leaflets are jointed with a gland near the joint. The flowers are pale yellow and contain both sexes. They occur in long sprays 30 cm long. Each flower has 5 petals and of these one is erect and 4 are bent backwards. The flowers are sweet scented. The fruit is a long capsule 30-100 cm long by 2 cm wide. The seed capsules are up to 45 cm long. They are roughly triangular in shape. They split open when dry. There are 9 dark brown seeds inside. The seeds have 3 wings. Some kinds are better for edible fruit than others, while some are selected for leaves. Often the fruiting kinds are grown as annual plants.
Eriobotrya japonica - Loquat
Edible Portion: Fruit, Seeds - coffee
A small evergreen tree up to 6-10 m high. It has a round crown. Leaves are large and strongly ribbed. They are 12-30 cm long and 8-10 cm wide. They are dark green and glossy on the upper surface and woolly white underneath. They are leathery with slight teeth. The new growth is tinged with red. Flowers have a strong scent. Flowers are small and white and in clusters at the ends of branches. They have a scent. Fruit are in loose clusters of about 10. They are pear shaped. They are 3-5 cm long and yellow when ripe. There are 3-5 large brown seeds in each fruit.
Momordica cochinchinensis - Gac
Edible Portion: Leaves, Vegetable, Fruit, Spice
A pumpkin family plant. It is a coarse vine up to 15 m long. It keeps growing from year to year. It has tuberous roots. It climbs by means of tendrils. It is slightly hairy. The leaves are 8 to 18 cm long, and 8-20 cm across and deeply 3 lobed and the base is heart shaped. Leaves are bright green. The leaf stalks are 2-10 cm long. Male and female flowers are separate on the same plant. Male flowers are 3.5 cm across on stalks 5-30 cm long. The petals are pale yellow. The female flowers are smaller. The fruit are egg shaped, yellow and roughened with small bumps scattered over it. They are edible. The flesh is orange-red. The seeds are blackish-brown.
Dimocarpus longan - Longan
Edible portion: Fruit, Leaves - Tea, Seeds
A tree up to 12-40 m high with a low trunk and spreading branches. The tree has a rounded crown. It keeps its leaves throughout the year. The trunk can be 80 cm across. There can be buttresses 2 m tall. The bark is corky. The twigs have 5 faint grooves. The leaves are 3-45 cm long by 1.8-20 cm wide. The leaves have petioles and six to nine leaflets. Leaflets are up to 12 cm long. Young leaflets are often red before turning green. The flowers occur in upright clusters. These are 8-40 cm long. They are produced on new growth. The flowers are small and reddish-brown. A progression of male, female and hermaphrodite flowers occur. Flowers are pollinated by insects. The fruit is similar to a litchi and about 2.5 cm across. They are yellow-brown when mature and with a pebbly surface. They occur in clusters of 10 to 80. The flesh or aril is white and sweet. The seed is small, round and brownish-black. There are several named cultivated varieties.
Cyphomandra betacea - Tree Tomato
Edible Portion: Fruit, Seeds, Vegetable
This is a small fruit tree or shrub in the tomato and tobacco family. It grows as a shrub with soft wood and it grows up to 4 m high. The stem is 5-10 cm across. It is brittle and shallow rooted. The leaves are large (25 cm x 12 cm) and soft. They are heart shaped at the base. The flowers are 1-2 cm across with a sweet smell. They are in loose clusters near the ends of branches. Flowers are normally self pollinating but need wind. The fruit is about 6-12 cm long, the shape of a hen's egg and red or orange in colour. They hang off the ends of the branches. The skin of the fruit is somewhat tough but the flesh around the seeds is soft and juicy. The flesh varies between yellow and dark purple. The flesh is edible. The seeds are black, thin and nearly flat. They are edible. There are several named cultivated varieties.
