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
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Dovyalis abyssinica x Dovyalis hebecarpa - Florida Gooseberry, Tropical Apricot, Florida
Edible Portion: Fruit
A natural hybrid between Diospyros abyssinica x Dovyalis hebecarpa. A large spreading shrub. It grows 7 m high. The branches are long and drooping. It has few thorns. The leaves are deep green and densely grouped together. They are 7.5-10 cm long. The flowers are greenish-yellow. They are small and have no petals. The male flowers have long yellow stamens. The fruit are round and 3 cm across. The flesh is yellow-orange to deep red.
Dovyalis caffra - Key Apple
Edible Portion: Fruit
A spiny shrub. It grows up to 6-9 m tall. It has long straight spines on the trunk and branches. They are about 3 cm long. The bark is white when young. The leaves are simple and carried one after another along the stem. The edges of the leaves roll back slightly. The leaves are dark green and glossy. Plants are separately male and female. The female flowers are 3 mm long and light green. They occur as 1-3 together in the axils of leaves. The male flowers are in dense short clusters in the axils of leaves. The fruit are medium sized and yellow. They are round and 2.5-4 cm across. The skin is tough. The fruit are edible.
Elaeis guineensis - African Oil Palm
Edible Portion: Seeds, Nuts, Cabbage, Fruit, Palm Heart, Sap, Vegetable, Seeds - Oil
An unbranched palm with a stout erect stem. The stem is rough due to the leaf bases which remain attached. It grows to 20-30 m tall. The trunk is about 75 cm across. The crown consists of about 40 open leaves. These hang downwards. The leaves develop from the bud as a tightly rolled shoot which later opens. The palm crown spreads 5-9 m across. Casual roots grow from the lower 1 m of the base of the trunk. Many roots also grow just under the soil and spread out for 20 m around the palm. The leaves are about 7.5 m long. The leaves have spines along the leaf stalk. These leaves are made up of many leaflets (100-160 pairs). These are slender, long and thin and rich green. These are held at different levels along the midrib (Almost two rows). The flowers are of one sex only. The male flowers occur with a spiny tip. The female flowers are on long stalks. They are 30-45 cm long. The fruit is a large round bunch of small fruits. These are 4 cm long by 2 cm across. There can be 200 fruit in a bunch.
Enterolobium cyclocarpum - Earpod Tree, Mexican Walnut Tree, Pitchwood
Edible Portion: Seeds, Pods, Fruit, Vegetable
A deciduous tree. It grows up to 30 m high. It has a large stocky trunk. It has small buttresses. The branches are heavy. The leaves are twice divided and feather like. They are deep green and there are 24 pairs of small leaflets and 50 larger leaflets. The flowers are small and greenish white. They occur in heads 1.5 cm across. The fruit is an ear shaped pod. It is 10 cm across and flat and coiled. It has several seeds.
Eugenia brasiliensis - Grumichama, Brazil-Cherry
Edible Portion: Fruit
A tree up to 15 m tall. It is a small compact tree. It is smaller in cooler areas (6m). The bark is grey. It has glossy leaves. They are opposite and oval to oblong. The leaves are 8-10 cm long and 3-5 cm wide. New leaves are a wine red colour. The leaf stalks are 3-4 mm long. It has small white flowers. The flowers occur singly in the axils of leaves. They are 2.5 cm wide. Clusters of fruit hang down on long stems. The fruit are round and dark purple. They can also be yellow. The flesh is soft. The fruit are 2-3 cm across and purplish black in colour. There is one large seed inside.
Eugenia luschnathiana - Pitomb
Edible Portion: Fruit, Seeds
A tree. It grows up to 9 m tall and spreading about 5 m wide. The bark is mottled brown. It has glossy leaves. They are dark green above and pale green underneath. It is evergreen. The fruit are yellow and about 2.5 cm long. They contain 1 to 4 seeds. They have a rose smell.
Ficus lacor - Cunningham’s Fig, Elephant Fig
Edible Portion: Leaves, Fruit, Buds
A fig. It is an evergreen tree. It can grow attached to other trees. It grows to 20 m high. The trunk can be 20-40 cm across. The branches droop. The bark is brownish grey. The leaves are oval narrowing to the tip. They are slightly crinkled. They are 7 -18 cm long. They are light green or pinkish when young. New leaves are covered by sheaths which fall off. The flowers occur inside the fig receptacle. The fruit are round. They are 2 cm across.
Flacourtia indica - Governor’s plum
Edible Portion: Fruit, Vegetable, Tea
A shrub or small tree. It grows 5-15 m high. The trunk is crooked and low branched and armed with scattered slender spines. The leaves are alternate, pointed at the base and rounded at the tip. The edges of the leaves toothed with rounded lobes. Leaves are dark green on top and pale green underneath. They are 6-17 cm long and 3-7 cm wide. Male and female trees occur. The flowers are small and white, occur singly or in pairs in the axils of leaves or near the ends of short branches. The fruit are rounded, fleshy, purple or nearly black. They are smooth and about 1 cm across. The flesh is yellowish, juicy and acid. There are 6 to 10 small flattened seeds inside. The fruit are edible.
A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. They are found in the Philippines in Cagayan, Isabela, Tarlac, Zambales, Bataan, Rizal and Mindoro. They thrive in dry shrubby areas at low altitudes. Trees grow in coastal areas and up to 700 m or higher. In Africa it grows from sea level to 2,400 m above sea level. They suit drier areas. In Yunnan it grows between 700-1500 m altitude. It grows in subtropical broadleaved evergreen forest. It can grow in arid places. It also grows on limestone. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In XTBG Yunnan.
Garcinia gummi-gutta
Edible Portion: Fruit, Leaves, Seeds-Fat, Skin Rind-Spice
A tree. It grows 14 m high. The leaves are sword shaped and 13 cm long. Male and female flowers are separate. Male flowers are yellow and in groups of 3-4 in the axils of leaves. The female flowers are larger and in the axils of leaves near the ends of branches. The fruit is orange coloured and segmented. It is about 5-7 cm across. It has a thin, smooth skin. The pulp is yellow and sweet. There are 6-8 seeds.
Garcinia livingstonei - African Mangosteen
Edible Portion: Fruit, Leaves, Gum
A slow growing evergreen shrub. It can grow to 5-10 m high and spread to 5 m wide. It has a twisted trunk. Most branches come out at right angles to the stem. The leaves are tough and leathery. They are 10-15 cm long and with white veins. They are glossy and dark green. The leaves come out in whorls of three. Fruit are about 5 cm across. They have a thin skin, are bright orange and usually have 2 seeds inside. There is a layer of orange pulp around these large seeds. The flesh is edible. The fruit grow on mature wood.
