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
552 Issues in this Publication (Showing issues 4000 - 4000) Previous | Next
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.
Lagenaria siceraria - Bottle Gourd
Edible Portion: Seeds, Leaves, Fruit, Vegetable, Flowers
A pumpkin family plant. It is an annual vine with large leaves. It can grow 3-9 m long and spread 3-6 m wide. The thick stems have furrows along them. It can climb over logs by attaching the tendrils which grow out of the stem near the leaf. The leaves are large and have soft hairs especially underneath. Flowers of both sexes are borne in the same plant. The plant produces male flowers first and these are on long stalks. Next it produces female flowers on short stalks. Flowers are large and white. They can be 10 cm across. They are mainly pollinated by insects. Fruit vary in shape. The fruit can be 8-90 cm long. They have brown seeds in a whitish green pulp. There are several varieties.
Limnocharis flava - Yellow Velvetleaf
Edible Portion: Leaves, Flowers, Leaf stalks, Vegetable
A herb which grows in water. The leaves form tufts. They are oval and 15-18 cm long by 12 cm wide. The leaf stalk is angular and 30 cm long. The flower head in at the end of the shoot and has a long flower stalk. There is a sheath like a membrane near the base. There are 5-10 flowers together. They are yellow.
Lonicera caprifolium - Italian Honeysuckle
Vegetables
Edible parts - Fruit, Flowers, Shoots
A deciduous climber. It grows 4.5-6 m long. It can be grown as a ground cover. The leaves are in fused pairs 5-10 cm long. The flowers are creamy-white to yellow. They can have pink tints. The flowers are 5 cm long. They are cupped by the bluegreen uppermost leaves. The fruit are orange-red berries.
Malva neglecta - Common Mallow
Edible Portion: Leaves, Vegetable, Seeds, Fruit, Nectar, Flowers
An annual herb about 0.5 m high. It is mostly low lying. The leaves are round or kidney shaped and 2-5 cm across. They have shallow lobes and a wavy edge. There are fine teeth around the edge. The flowers are pale lilac with darker veins. They are small and in stalked clusters in the axils of leaves. The petals are deeply notched on the outer edges. The fruit are nutlets which are brownish-green when ripe. They have smooth hairy backs.
Mirabilis jalapa - Four O'Clock Plant
Edible Portion: Leaves, Seeds - Spice, Flowers - Colouring, Vegetable, Root - Tea
A bushy herb. It can grow as an annual plant but it can keep growing from year to year from the thick tuberous root. It grows to 60-200 cm high and spreads to 60 cm wide. The stem is short, thick and branching. The leaves occur opposite one another. They are green and oval or sword shaped. They taper to the tip. They are 6-9 cm long by 1-4 cm wide. The lower leaves have leaf stalks while the upper leaves do not. The flowers are like tubes and expand towards the top forming a funnel shape. They are 6 cm long by 3 cm wide. They are red, white, yellow or purple. They have a scent. The flowers open in the afternoon. The flowers occur in clusters at the ends of branches. The fruit are almost round, black nuts.
Solanum macrocarpon - African Eggplant
Edible Portion: Leaves, Fruit, Flowers, Vegetable
An annual plant. It can keep groing for some years. The leaves are dark green and glossy. The leaf stalk is not well defined as the leaf blade runs down into the stalk. Leaves are generally not very hairy. The flowers are purple or sometimes white. The flowers are large. The fruit are are round and greenish white but become orange-yellow or brown when fully ripe. They are hard or firm with long calyces around the fruit.
