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 3000 - 3000) Previous | Next
Bambusa lako - Timor Black Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. The stems can be 21 m tall. They can be 10 cm across. They are green when young and then mature to black. The leaves are long and hang down. They can be 25 cm long.
Bambusa multiplex - Hedge Bamboo, Chinese Dwarf Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A hollow tufted bamboo. It forms clumps. It is 2-6 m tall. It has slender stalks. The stalks are 1-2.5 cm across. They arch over at the tips. The internodes are 30-50 cm long. The culm sheath is 12-15 cm long by 6-8 cm wide. It is light green when young and turns reddish-brown or pale brown. The leaves are flat and reddish-green. They are sword shaped and clasp the stem.The blade is triangular shape and 9-12 cm long. It tapers to the tip. The base attaches to the sheath. The leaves are usually at the end of a branch. There are 6-13 together. The blades are 7-12 cm long by 1-1.5 cm wide. Mature plants produce flowering branches which arch over. The flowers are at the end of a leafy branch. The spik
Bambusa nutans - Nodding Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It grows 10-15 m tall. The stems are 8 cm across. They form loose clumps. The stems are smooth and green with a white ring below the nodes. The nodes are slightly thickened and often hairy. The internodes are 25-45 cm long and the walls are thick. The sheaths are 10-23 cm long and 30 cm wide at the base.
Bambusa textilis - Weaver's Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It grows 8-10 m tall. The stems are 3-5 cm across. The tips are slightly drooping. The internodes are 40-70 cm long. They are white and powdery when young. The leaf blades are 9-17 cm long
Bambusa tulda - Bengal Bamboo, Spineless Indian Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots, Rhizomes, Root
A thick walled tufted bamboo. It grows to about 20 m tall. It is almost un-branched near the base but branches higher up. The nodes are slightly thickened. The internodes are 40-65 cm long and 5-10 cm wide. They have a white ring around the node. They are grey-green at maturity. The culm sheath is 10-25 cm long and 15-25 cm wide. The leaves have leaf stalks. The leaves are 15-25 cm long and 2-4 cm wide. They are narrow and sword shaped. They are hairy underneath. Young shoots are green with yellow stripes. Plants may take 25-40 years to flower.
Bambusa tuldoides - Punting Pole Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A densely tufted bamboo. The culm or stem is erect but nodding at the tip. They grow 6-10 m tall. The stems are 3-5 cm across at the base. The young stems are covered with white wax. The internodes are 30-36 cm long. The lowest 1 or 2 nodes have a ring of grey silky hairs above the sheath scar. The stems branch from the nodes. The leaf blade is sword shaped and 10-18 cm long by 1-2 cm wide. Flowering can start at 50 years of age. In China clumps usually die after flowering but in other locations plants can remain alive.
Bambusa vulgaris - Common Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
An erect clump forming spineless bamboo. It is a large bamboo with strong stalks used for buildings. The stalks can be 20 m tall and 5-10 cm across at the base. They are often not straight. The stalks can be green and glossy or yellow or yellow with green stripes. It very rarely flowers. The distinctive culm sheath (top of the leaf that is wrapped around the stalk) helps identify the plant. The culm sheath is triangular and 15-45 cm long by 20 cm wide. The edges are hairy. The leaf blade is 6-30 cm long by 1 -4 cm wide. The stems are smooth and usually yellow green and smaller than Kauayan-tinik
Calendula arvensis - Field Marigold
Edible portion: Flowers, Leaves
A herb. It is an annual plant. It grows 30 cm high and spreads 30 cm wide. In poor and dry areas it is smaller. The leaves are oblong and slightly downy. They do not have leaf stalks. The flowers are yellow or orange and 25 mm across. They grow singly at the ends of branches.
Cassia grandis - Coral shower, Horse Cassia
Edible Portion: Pod pulp
A semi-evergreen tree. It loses some of its leaves in the dry season. It grows 20-30 m high. It spreads 5 m wide. The leaves are glossy olive green. They have a fringe of hairs along the edge. The leaves are made up of 14-42 leaflets. The flowers are in upright panicles. These are 20 cm long. They are pink. The fruit are large swollen
