Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets

Balanites aegyptiaca - Desert Date

Edible portion : Fruit, Seeds, Shoots, Flowers, Oil, Leaves, Resin, Gum, Nectar,

A small evergreen tree. It grows up to 6-15 m high. It is spiny. It produces a rounded crown of tangled thorny branches. The bark is dark brown or grey and has patterns on it. It becomes corky and cracked with age. The branches are stiff and brittle. The branches have stout spines. They are single and 8 cm long. The thorns are soft at first then become woody. The leaves occur as distinctive pairs of grey-green leaflets. The leaves are 2.5-6 cm long by 1.5-4 cm wide. The leaves are slightly different shape in each half. They are leathery and slightly hairy. There are 4-6 prominent veins which are clearly seen on the under side of the leaf. The flowers are in clusters, small and hairy. They are 1.4 cm across. They are yellow-green and have a sweet smell. The fruit is yellowish-green and 5 cm long by 2.5 cm wide. The fruit are date like. Both ends of the fruit are rounded. There is a hard pointy seed about 4 cm long by 2 cm wide. The flesh around the seed is yellow and bittersweet. The seed is easily separated from the flesh.

A tropical plant. It is found all over Africa. It grows in the lowlands. It occurs from arid to sub-humid areas. It suits hot dry areas. It grows in the Sahel. It grows from sea level to 2,000 m altitude. It prefers valley soils but will grow on a range of soils. It suits a rainfall of 200-800 mm. It can grow in arid places. It needs a mean average temperature of 20-30°C. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa.

Corchorus olitorius - Jute

Edible portions: Leaves, Seeds, Vegetable, Fruit

An annual herb. It is upright, branching, and slightly woody. Plants vary in height, shape, leafiness and hairiness. Plants grown for leaves are usually only 30 cm tall. They also have many branches. Leaves are shiny and have leaf stalks. The leaves have teeth along the edge. The tips of the lowest leaves in each side, have long bristle like structures. Small clusters of yellow flowers grow in the axils of the leaves. The fruit are ridged capsules. They can be 7 cm long. These have partitions across them between the seeds. A ripe capsules contains 180-230 seeds. The seeds are dull grey and with four faces and one long point. Each seed has one pale line along it.

A tropical plant. It is mostly coastal, below 250 m altitude. Temperatures of 22°-35°C are suitable. It can stand both drought (2 -3 weeks) and water-logging, except when young. A well drained soil is best. They require humus-rich soils. A pH of 5.5-7.0 is best, but they can grow in soils with pH up to 8.5. They also need adequate moisture for good leaf production. A rainfall of 1,000 mm is suitable. A high relative humidity (80-90%) is best. It produces seeds when day lengths are short. In Yunnan.

Cordia crenata - Musakabi

Edible portions: Fruit

A shrub or small tree. It grows 7 m tall. Young plant parts are hairy. The leaves are oval or wedge shaped and 5-8 cm long by 3 cm wide. They are rough above and hairy underneath. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. The fruit are oval and orange and 13 mm long by 8 mm wide. There is one seed.

It is a tropical plant.

Cordia sinensis - Grey-leaved saucer-berry

Edible Portions: Fruit, Root, Gum, Leaves

A tangled shrub or small tree. It loses its leaves during the year. It is 3-12 m tall. The trunk is crooked. It has many branches and these often droop over. The bark is grey and smooth when young. It later becomes dark and roughly grooved. The leaves are grey-green. They are narrow and oblong. They can be 9 cm long. They feel rough to touch and have hairs on both sides. The tip of the leaf is rounded. The leaf stalk is 1 cm long. Leaves are almost opposite. The flowers are small and like tubes. The 4 or 5 petals are bent backwards. They are fused into a short tube at the base. The flowers are creamy white. They have a sweet smell. The flowers occur in clusters at the ends of branches. They grow on branched hairy stalks. The fruit is oval and 2 cm long. It has a tip at the end and is held in a cup of leaves (calyx). The fruit is orange-red and has a sticky edible pulp. There are 1-4 tiny seeds. The seeds are embedded in a clear pulp.

A tropical plant. It is widespread in Africa at low altitudes and in dry areas. It is more common in dry river beds. It can grow on sandy or salty soils. In Africa it grows from sea level to 1,400 m above sea level. In Tanzania it grows in areas with a rainfall between 600-1,000 mm. It can grow in arid places. It grows on gravelly soils and in wasteland. It is drought hardy. In Pakistan it is found in dry areas up to 300 m above sea level. It grows in the lowlands and often along rivers.

Cucumis metuliferus - African Horned cucumber, Kiwano

Edible portions: Fruit, Seeds, Vegetable, Leaves

A pumpkin family plant. It is an annual plant. It grows to 0.5 m tall and spreads to 1.5 m wide. The stems are trailing and hairy. The tendrils are curled and do not branch. The leaves have 3 lobes and are heart shaped. The edges of the leaves have teeth. The flowers are funnel shaped. and yellow. They open into five lobes. Male and female flowers occur on the same plant. The female flower is above a prickly green ovary which enlarges to become the fruit. The fruit are oblong and spiny and change from green to orange as they ripen. They are 12 cm long and 6 cm across. The fleshy pulp surrounding the seeds is bright green. The seeds are white. It tastes and smells like a cucumber. The skin is not eaten.

A tropical plant. It requires conditions similar to cucumbers. It prefers light well drained soil. It needs a protected sunny position. It is drought and frost tender. It grows at low and medium elevations in Zimbabwe. It grows between 210-1,800 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

Grewia bicolor - Two-coloured grewia

Edible portions: Fruit, Leaves - tea, Vegetable, Flowers

A small tree or shrub. It grows up to 3-8 m tall. It is often a shrub with many stems. The young branches are covered with soft hairs. The leaves are oval or sword shaped. They are smooth above and white below. The have fine teeth along the edges. The leaves are 1-8 cm long. The flowers are in bunches and are bright yellow. They have 5 narrow petals. The fruit are orange brown and 6 mm across. They are edible.

A tropical plant. It grows in lowlands and highlands. It grows in drier regions. It grows in the Sahel. The rainfall in these places is 400-900 mm each year. It is often on rocky slopes near the sea. In grows on calcareous soils. It grows at low and medium altitudes in South Africa. In East Africa it grows from sea level to 2,000 m altitude. It grows best between 800-1,800 m altitude. It can grow in arid places. It is often on termite mounds. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa. It grows in the Sahara.

Grewia capitellata - Nguilabe

Edible portions: Fruit

A shrub. It grows 3 m tall. The leaves are broadly oval and 10 cm long. There are teeth along the edge. The base is rounded but can be wedge shaped. There can be some fine hairs underneath. The flowers are white or yellow. They are in groups in the axils or leaves or at the ends of branches. The fruit have 2-6 lobes. They are edible.

It is a tropical plant.

Salvadora persica - Salt Bus, Mustard Tree, Tafabe

Edible portions: Seeds, Leaves, Fruit, Bark, Vegetable

An evergreen shrub or small tree. It grows 4-6 metres high. It has many branches forming a rambling habit. The stems are crooked and can grow along the ground. The branches are drooping and twisted. They are slender and greenish white. The bark is thin and rough. It is cream coloured. The leaves occur opposite one another along the stem. They are on short stalks. The leaves are smooth and fleshy but thick and leathery. They are greenish blue and have small stipules. The leaves are oval and 7 cm long by 3 cm wide. They end in a short stiff point. The flowers are yellow and small. many flowers occur together in a branched arrangement near the ends of branches. These flower arrangements are 5-8 cm long. The fruit is a round berry about 6 mm across. They are red when ripe. Seedless fruit can occur. The seedless fruit are dark red. The fruit are edible. 

A tropical plant. It grows in the dry tropics. It grows in the Sahel. It occurs at low altitudes. It suits high temperatures. Temperatures of 20-30°C annual average are appropriate. It cannot stand frost. It occurs in areas with an annual rainfall of 50 -300 mm but also in areas with 1,100 mm. In high rainfall areas it occurs on saline soils. It prefers clay to sandy soils such as on flood plains. It can be in mangroves. It can be used to reclaim salty soils. In Kenya it grows from sea level to 1,500 m altitude. It can grow in arid places.

Tamarindus indica - Tamarind

Edible portions: Fruit, Seeds, Leaves, Flowers, Spice, Vegetable

A large spreading tree up to 24 m tall. It has a broad dense evergreen crown. In dry areas the tree can lose its leaves. The trunk can be 1 m across. The bark is rough and grey with a checkered pattern. The leaves are carried one after another along the branch. The whole leaf is 6-12 cm long and it is divided into 10-17 pairs of leaflets. These are oblong and without stalks. The whole leaf has a leaf stalk about 15 cm long. The leaflets are 1-2.5 cm long and 4 9 mm wide. They are a dull dark green and with a rounded tip. The flowers are pale yellow with brown markings. The flowers are about 2.5 cm across and hang on long
many flowered stalks. The fruit is an oblong thin skinned fleshy capsule. The brown seeds are inside this long rough surfaced, sausage-like fruit. This pod is 6-8 cm long and about 2 cm wide and contracted between the seeds. The pod cracks when mature. It is a legume. The pulp is date like and reddish brown. The seeds are shiny and hard. The pulp of the pods is edible.

A tropical plant. The tree is cultivated in a number of coastal towns in the tropics as a street tree. It is probably best grown below 800 m altitude in the tropics. It is drought resistant. It cannot stand water-logging. It does well on coastal dunes above high water level. It suits semi-arid areas. It grows in the Sahel. It must be in frost free locations. In Nepal it grows up to about 1200 m altitude. In Kenya it grows from sea level to 1,600 m altitude. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa. In XTBG Yunnan. It suits hardiness zones 11-12.

Ximenia americana - Yellow Plum

Edible portions: Fruit, Leaves, Seeds, Oil, Root bark - tea

A small tree or spiny shrub about 3-4 m high. It has spines about 1 cm long which are thin and straight. The leaves and branches are without hairs. The leaves are alternate, oval and about 2-4 cm long. The leaves are bluish green. The leaves fold upwards along the midrib. The tip of the leaf can be round or with a notch. The flowers are greenish white, have a smell and are less than 1 cm long. They occur in small branched clusters with a common stalk. The fruit are yellow, egg shaped and 2 cm across. They are thin skinned. They are sour. There is one large seed.

A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. They occur along the back of coasts and seashores from Luzon to Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines. It occurs in the vegetation near the coastline. The plant occurs in all tropical countries. It is found in savannah in Africa. It is drought resistant. In China it grows in sandy areas behind beaches along the sea shore and mostly below 100 m in S China. In Bolivia it grows up to 900 m altitude. In Kenya it grows between 1,700-1,800 m altitude. In Ethiopia it grows between 500-2,450 m above sea level. It grows in the Sahel. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 100 -1,270 mm. It can grow in arid places.