Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets

Tithonia diversifolia

An annual herb. It grows 1-3 m tall. The stems are stout and rough. The leaves are alternate and oval. They have teeth around the edge. The lowest leaves can be heart shaped. The leaves are 10-25 cm long by 5 cm wide. They are hairy. The flower is large and occurs singly. It can be 20 cm across. It is yellow. The fruit is 4 angled and 1 cm long by 4 mm wide.  It is a tropical plant. It grows between 550-1,950 m above sea level. In the Philippines it occurs along roadsides at higher elevations. In Yunnan

Common names : Wild sunflower, Giant Mexican Sunflower, Japanese sunflower, Kade putali phul, Kembang bulan, Marigold shrub, Malulu, Malulua, Matalaa, Negya-ni, Tree marigold,

Synonyms :

Helianthus quinquelobus Sesse & Moc.;
Mirasolia diversifolia Hemsl.;
Tithonia diversifolia subsp. diversifolia;
Urbanisol tagetiflora var. glabriuscula S. F. Blake;
and others

Raphanus sativus var longipinnatus

Edible: Roots, Leaves, Vegetable

A cabbage family plant like a large radish. It has a large fleshy root and deeply divided leaves. The taproot is long and white. It takes one or two years to complete its life cycle. The stems can be 20-100 cm high. The leaves near the base are long. They are divided and have coarse teeth. The leaves up the stem are simple and narrow. The flowers develop at the top. They are usually white with purple veins. The fruit are pods about 3-8 cm long and 1.25 cm across. They have a long tapering beak. There are 6-12 round seeds. These can be yellow or brown.

A temperate plant. It is more common in lowland areas in the tropics. It needs a rich loose fertile soil. It suits hardiness zones 6-9.

Common Names: Chinese radish, Daikon, Oriental radish, Cu cai trang, Labanos, Lao bo, Lo bok, Lobak, Loh-bak, Lo paak, Moo, Mooli, Muli, Mure, Phakkat-hua, Rabu

Synonyms: 

Probably now Raphanus sativus Daikon group;

Amaranthus retroflexus

Edible: Leaves, Seeds

An annual herb which grows to 60-90 cm high. It has furry stems. The root is usually rosy red. The leaves and stems are often quite red in colour. The leaves are oval or sword shaped. The seed spikes are green and bristly. These can be at the top of the plant or in the axils of leaves.

A temperate and Mediterranean plant. It grows in waste land and amongst crops in most temperate regions of the world. It will grow in the tropics. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Sichuan.

Common Names: Red-root Amaranth, Pigweed, Agghijtone, Anamalitalita, Anatarika, Arbai, Bozoglan, Den tram, Fan zhi xian, Havakatar, Horoz ibigi, Kirmizi koklu tilki kuyrugu, Kizilbacak, Kizilot, Koksor, Krasni koren, Krvavordeči ščir, Laskavec ohnuty, Legendur, Lippia, Llaboda, Obiknoven shtir, Pasa pancan, Phak khom, Reverse branch amaranth, Sa die, Selkok, Sermask, Silqvas, Sipirgeyi sor, Sirken, Stir, Tar, Tar gor, Xian cai

Synonyms: 

Amaranthus delilei Loret;

Euryale ferox

Edible Seeds, Roots, Rhizomes, Leaves, Flower buds, Vegetable

A herb. It is a large waterlily. It re-grows each year or can last for a few years. It grows in water. The rhizomes or underground stems are erect and unbranched. The leaves which are under the water are not prickly. The leaf blade is spear head shaped and 4-10 cm long. The base is deeply heat shaped. The leaves which float on the water are prickly. The leaf blade is dark purple underneath but green on top. They are 1.3-2.7 m across. The are somewhat leathery. The flowers are 5 cm across. The flower stalk is stout and densely prickly. The sepals are triangle shaped or oval and 1-1.5 cm long. They are prickly underneath. The petals fade from purple at the outside to white in the centre. The fruit is dark purple and round. It is 5-10 cm across. It is spongy and densely prickly. The seeds are black and there are 8 to many. They are round and 6-10 mm across. The coat is thick and rigid.

It is a subtropical and tropical plant. It grows in lakes and ponds in many provinces of China. It grows in still water. It grows in wetlands. It needs a water temperature of 25°C or higher. It suits hardiness zones 8-11. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Common names : Fox Nut, Gorgon Nut, Prickly Water-Lily, Chicken-head rice, Chicken-Head, Gorgon plant, Jewar, Jitoumi, Kanta padma, Khee sat, Kuntapadmu, Makana, Makhana, Makhna, Mellunipadmamu, Nikhori, Nikori, Phukhol, Phul-makhana, Qianshi, Shriew-u-pubon, Sin-kya, Spiny waterlily, Thanging, Thangjing, Utpal,

Grewia asiatica

Edible : Fruit

A shrub or small tree. It loses its leaves during the year. It grows 4-8 m tall. The bark is rough and grey. The branches are long, slender and drooping. Young branches are covered with hairs. The leaves are alternate. They are simple. The leaves are a broad oval or heart shape. They can be 20 cm long by 16 cm wide. The base is at an angle. They taper to the tip. The edges have coarse teeth. There are some hairs on the top of the leaf and a covering under the leaf. The leaf stalk is 1.5 cm long. The flowering stalks are in the axils of leaves. There are 3-5 stalks with 2-8 flowers clustered in groups. The flowers are yellow. The fruit are small and round and dark blue to almost black when ripe. They are about 2 cm across. They have indistinct lobes. The flesh is soft, fibrous and greenish-white stained a purplish-red. There are 1-2 half round seeds. These are 5 mm across.

A tropical plant. Plants can grow in tropical and subtropical conditions. They can stand temperatures of 44°C as well as light frosts. It can tolerate frost when dormant. They require a deep well drained soil with a pH of 5.5-7. They occur at low altitudes in the Philippines in Cagayan, Bataan and the Ilocos regions. It grows in dry and secondary dense forest. It can grow in humid and arid regions. It flowers and fruits best where there is a distinct wet and dry season. It needs a distinct winter and summer climate regime. It can grow on a range of soils but is sensitive to waterlogging. It grows on limestone soils. It can grow in arid places.

Common names : Baruian, Buttiyudippe, Co-ke-a, Darachi, Dhamin, Falsa, Goyalipala, Jana, Malai, Nallajana, Nhaab, Palisa, Parusha, Phalsa, Phalsi, Pharasakoli, Pharsa, Phutiki, Po tao hai, Pophlea thom, Pophlie, Sanjelhei, Shukri, Tadachi, Tadasala, Ya-khithut, Phalsa

Other Scientific Names

Microcos lateriflora L.;
Grewia hainesiana Hole;
Grewia paniculata Roxb.;
Grewia obtecta Wall. [Invalid];
Grewia subinaequalis DC.;

Colocasia esculenta - Taro

Edible Portion: Corm, Leaves, Stalks, Vegetable, Root, Flowers

This plant has large flat leaves on the end of upright leaf stalks. It grows up to 1 m high. The leaf stalk or petiole joins the leaf towards the centre of the leaf. The leaves are 20-50 cm long. Near the ground a thickened rounded corm is produced. Around this plant their is normally a ring of small plants called suckers. Many different varieties occur. If left to maturity, a lily type flower is produced in the centre of the plant. It has a spathe 15-30 cm long which is rolled inwards. The flowers are yellow and fused along the stalk. There are many named cultivated varieties.

Taro comes in two basic forms. The Dasheen type Colocasia esculenta var. esculenta and Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum or the Eddoe type. The basic difference is the adaptation of the Eddoe type to storage and survival in seasonally dry places, while the dasheen type needs to be maintained in a more or less continuously growing vegetative stage. These are now recognised as separate species names.

Dactyloctenium aegyptium - Comb Fringe Grass

Edible Portion: Seeds, Cereal, Rhizome, Root

An annual grass. The stems are slender. They can lie along the ground. These can form roots at the nodes. They can have runners and form mats. It is 15-60 cm high. The edges of the leaf sheaths have small hairs. The leaf blades are flat and 5-20 cm long by 0.2-0.6 cm wide. The surfaces are lumpy/hairy. It tapers to the tip. The flowers spread like fingers on a hand. There are 2-9 flower stalks. They are long and narrow. They often spread out horizontally. The spikes are on one side of the stalk. The tip is bare. The seed grains are about 1 mm across.

Hordeum vulgare - Barley

Edible Portion: Seeds, Cereal, Seeds - Tea

An erect annual grass. It grows 80-120 cm tall. The nodes are solid and the internodes are hollow. The leaves are narrow.  There are 5-10 leaves. They are produced alternately on opposite sides of the stem at the nodes. The leaves are narrowly sword shaped and 5-40 cm long by 0.5-1.5 cm wide. The flowers are greenish. Flowers have long awns. The fruit is a grain. It is oval and narrow. There are a range of named cultivated varieties.

Ipomoea batatas - Sweet Potato

Edible Portion: Tuber, Root, Leaves, Vegetable

This is a root crop which produces long creeping vines. The leaves are carried singly along the vine. Leaves can vary considerably from divided like fingers on a hand to being entire and rounded or heart shaped. At the end of the vine, trumpet shaped flowers grow. They are purple. Under the ground fattened tubers are produced. There are a large number of varieties which vary in leaf shape and colour, tuber shape, colour, texture and in several other ways.

Manihot esculenta - Cassava

Edible Portion: Root, Leaves, Flowers, Vegetable

A plant which can re-grow year after year from the thickened roots. It has several stems. The stems are woody and have some branches. Plants grow up to 2 or 3 metres high. Stalks have distinct scars where leaves have fallen. The leaves tend to be near the ends of branches. The leaves are divided like the fingers on a hand. The leaves have long leaf stalks. The leaves have 3-7 long lobes which can be 20 cm long. These are widest about 1/3 of the distance from the tip and taper towards the base. The colour varies. It produces several long tubers. These can be 50 cm long by 10 cm across. The flowers are on short stalks around a central stalk. They are produced near the ends of branches. The female flowers are near the base of the flower stalk and the male flowers higher up.