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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Cucurbita moschata - Pumpkin
Edible Portion: Fruit, Leaves, Seeds, Vegetable, Flowers
A pumpkin family plant. It is a creeping plant with long creeping stems and softly hairy but without prickly hairs. The stem are rounded or 5 angled and moderately hard. They can grow 15-20 m long. The leaves are large and shallowly lobed and divided like fingers on a hand. Occasionally the leaves have white blotches. They have rounded lobes. They are 20 cm by 30 cm. The leaf stalk is 12-30 cm long. The flowers have male and female flowers separately on the same plant. The fruit stalk is distinctly expanded there it joins the fruit. The fruit are not hard shelled and are dull in colour. The flesh is yellow. Often the flesh has fibres through it. The seeds are plump and white to brown. They separate easily from the pulp of the fruit. The edge of the seed is scalloped and irregular in outline. There are a large number of cultivated varieties.
Cynara scolymus - Globe Artichoke
Edible Portion: Leaves, Flowers, Vegetable, Stems
A thistle like perennial plant. It grows 1-2 m high and spreads to 1 m across. It forms a clump. It has deeply lobed leaves. The leaves are 80 cm long. They are greyish green above. They have a woolly, white surface underneath. They do not have spines. The flower is purple and surrounded by green bracts. It forms a large head. The flower head is about 8-15 cm across. There are several cultivated varieties.
Daucus carota subsp. sativus - Carrot
Edible Portion: Root, Leaves, Seeds - Flavouring, Vegetable
A root crop grown from seed. It normally grows a fattened root one year then forms a flower the next year. It can be 60 cm high and spread to 50 cm wide. The root is long in shape and orange in colour. The stem is erect, tough and furrowed. The leaves are feathery and divided 3 times. The leaves have a sheath clasping the stalk at the base. The flowers are white and lacy. They form a dense compound cluster at the top of the plant. Sometimes flowers are only produced into the second year of growth, depending on temperature.
Desmodium triflorum - Three-Flower Beggarweed
Edible Portion: Leaves, Leaves - Tea
A prostrate herb which forms mats. It can re-grow each year or continue growing from year to year. The plant can be 10-20 cm tall. The stems are 8-20 cm long. The stems are much branched and covered with yellow-brown hairs. The plant can form roots at the nodes of the stem. The leaves have 3 leaflets. These are oblong and 0.4-1.4 cm long by 0.4-1.2 cm wide. They can be hairy underneath. The leaf stalk is 0.4-1.1 cm long. There are normally 1-3 flowers in the axils of leaves. They are about 5 mm long. The petals are blue, purple or red. The fruit is a pod 1.2-1.8 cm long and with 2-5 segments. These are like a half circle in shape. One edge of the pod is indented.
Dioscorea trifida - Sweet Yam
Edible Portion: Tubers, Vegetable, Root
A yam vine. The stem is square in cross section and does not have spines. The leaves are 25 cm long. They are opposite. The leaf is divided like fingers on a hand into 3 or more segments. The male flower is on a long stalk and the female flower stalk is short. It easily produces seed. The underground tuber is irregular in shape. It can be 70 cm long. Varieties can range in colour from white to purple and black.
Drymaria cordata - West Indian Chickweed
Edible Portion: Leaves, Vegetable, Root
An annual herb. It climbs or creeps along the ground. It has branches that divide in two. It often forms a dense ground cover. The stems form roots at the nodes. The leaves are small, opposite and heart shaped. The leaves are 0.8-2 cm long by 0.5-2 cm wide. The flowers are small and white. The are in twice branched heads at the ends of the stems. The fruit is a capsule. It splits to release small seeds.
Equisetum arvense - Field Horsetail
Edible Portion: Root, Tuber, Stem, Flower Bud, Vegetable
A rush like plant. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 40-60 cm high and spreads 30-45 cm wide. The stems are in rings which are tightly packed. They are 60 cm tall. They are slightly rough and have furrows along them. There are also branching stems which are short lived. The leaves are fine and feathery and light green.
Eryngium foetidum - Sawtooth Coriander
Edible Portion: Leaves, Spice, Fruit
A herb. It grows 15-50 cm high. It has one stem. The leaves are all near the base of the plant. The leaves are 7-15 cm long by 1-2 cm wide. The leaves have teeth along the edge. The flower head is oval. It is 5-8 mm long by 3-4 mm wide. The flowers are greenish-white. The fruit is almost round and 2 mm across.
Geonoma interrupta - Chontilla
Edible Portion: Young Flowers, Palm Hearts, Cabbage, Seed
palm. It can have a single stem or up to 10 stems. They can be 0.1-7 m tall and 2-12 cm wide. They are light brown. There are 6-23 leaves and the blades are 2 m long. The leaflets may be regular or irregular. There are 3-41 curved leaflets on each side. There are usually narrow leaflets among broad leaflets. The flowering stalk is among the leaves. The flowering stalk has 1 -3 orders or branching. There are 8-32 flowering branches. The lower ones are branched again and 9-25 cm long and 1-3 mm thick. The fruit are round and 3-6 mm long.
Jatropha curcas - Physic Nut
Edible Portion: Leaves, Caution, Honey, Seeds
A high shrub or small tree. It is deciduous and has a thin crown. It is up to 5-8 m high. It has milky sap. The leaves have 3-5 lobes. They are 6 cm long by 15 cm wide. Flowers are separately male and female on the same plant. They are small and yellowish-green. They are at the ends of the branches. The fruit is a yellow capsule. Plants are pollinated by insects. Seeds are black and 2 cm long by 1 cm wide. They are rich in oil.
