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
554 Issues in this Publication (Showing issues 8000 - 8000) Previous | Next
Pseudosasa japonica - Arrow Bamboo, Hardy bamboo
Edible Portion: Seeds, Stem, Cereal, Shoots
A bamboo. It can grow 3.5-4.5 m high. The canes are olive green. The leaves are large and ribbon shaped. They are glossy but rough and whitened underneath. They are 20-25 cm long and 2.5-5 cm wide. The stems have brownish sheaths attached.
Schizostachyum blumei - Tamiyang bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It has short rhizomes. The stems are erect and arching over. They hang down at the tip. They are 3-7 m tall and 1 -2 cm across. The internodes are 30 cm long. The sheaths on the stems are sword shaped or curved back. They have white hairs. The leaves are sword shaped and dark green. The flowers are in untidy tufts at the nodes.
Schizostachyum brachycladum - Sacred Bali Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
An erect bamboo. It forms dense clumps. It grows about 10-20 m high and 5-10 cm across the stem. The shoots are smooth and with shorter internodes than Schizostachyum lima. They are 20-50 cm long. The sheaths stay on the stem and have reddish hairs. The leaves are sword shaped and hairy underneath.
Schizostachyum caudatum - Hunched bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It has short rhizomes and erect stems that droop at the tips. They are 6-10 m tall and woody. The internodes are 12 -20 cm long. The sheaths stay on the stem and have sharp brown hairs. The leaves are sword shaped with a smooth surface but rough edge. The flowers are in untidy tufts at the nodes.
Schizostachyum dullooa - Dulu bamboo, Duullooa bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows in tufts. The stems (culms) are erect and 6-9 m long. They are 3-7 cm across. They are woody. The internodes are 40-75 cm long and hollow. The sheaths are 12-30 cm long and 10-25 cm wide.
Schizostachyum lima - Anos Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
An endemic erect thin walled bamboo. It is distinguished among all the Philippines forms by long internodes usually about 1m in length. The stem is about 2.5 to 4.8 cm across and green without spines. Branches on the fifth node may or may not be present.
Schizostachyum zollingeri - Lampar Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A tufted bamboo. It forms many tillers. It grows 10-20 m tall. It has long joints and thin walls. The stems are 8-10 cm across. The tips droop. The leaf sheath is 15 cm tall with a leaf blade is purplish when young and 9 cm long by 9 cm wide. The leaf bade is 40 cm long by 7 cm wide.
Semiarundinaria fastuosa - Narihira bamboo, Temple bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A tall upright bamboo. It grows 7 m high and spreads 2 m wide. The canes are shiny and mid green. They are 1-4 cm wide. They have few leaves on the lower sections. There are purple-brown stripes on the canes. There are 3 branches at each node.
