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
562 Contenido (Mostrando Ediciones 8000 - 8000) Anterior | Próximo
Dendrocalamus strictus - Male Bamboo, Calcutta stricta
Edible Portion: Seeds, Leaves, Shoots, Cereal, Manna, Rhizaome, Root
Dendrocalamus tibeticus - Tibetan Male Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It grows 15-25 m high. The culms are 12-18 cm across. The nodes are 40-45 cm long and green. The leaf sheaths are 6-11 cm long and the leaf blade is 10-32 cm long by 2-5 cm wide.
Dianthus chinensis - Chinese Pink
Edible Portion: Flowers
A short lived plant often grown as an annual. It grows 30-45 cm high and spreads 15-23 cm wide. It is a bushy plant. The stems have easy to see nodes. The leaves are slender. They are light green, pointed and 8 cm long. The flowers are red, pink or white. They are about 2.5 cm across.
Drepanostachyum falcatum - Himalayan Bamboo, Himalayan Weeping Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It grows to about 4 m high. The stems are not straight. They are about 2 cm across. They are branched. The stem is hollow. The nodes are swollen. The internodes are thin walled. Small branches come out from the nodes in clusters. The sheaths are papery and straw coloured. The base of the leaves wraps around the stem. The flower stalk is on a separate leafless stem. It is greenish.
Fargesia melanostachys - Black Spike Arrow Bamboo
Edible Portion: Leaves, Vegetable
A bamboo. It grows 6 m tall. The rhizomes or underground stems are 1-1.5 cm across. The are densely covered with scales. The culms have 25 internodes and are yellowish-green. There are 3-11 branches at each node. There are 2 or 3 leaves on the end branch. The leaf blades are 4-8 cm long by 1 cm wide.
Fargesia spathacea - Giant Panda Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots, Seeds
A bamboo. It grows 2-4 m tall. The culms are 0.5-2 cm across. The internodes are 15-18 cm long. There are 9-14 branches at each node. There are 2 or 3 leaves at the last branch. The leaf blade is 6-10 cm long by 5-13 mm wide.
Gigantochloa atter - Sweet Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A tall bamboo. It grows 12-22 m high. It forms many tillers. It can be green or black. The stems are 5-10 cm across. The leaves are sword shaped and narrowed at the base. The side are unequal. They are 15-30 cm long by 2-6 cm wide. The flowering shoots have many branches. There are 5-15 spikelets in a group.
Gigantochloa hasskarliana - Pingit Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A slender bamboo. It has many tillers. It grows 6-10 m tall. The stems are thin and green. The tops are drooping. The nodes are swollen and have a ring of hairs around them. The joints are 35-50 cm long. The stems are 3-5 cm across. The leaves are narrowly sword shaped and have short stalks. The base is wedge shaped and they tape to the tip. They are 15-45 cm long by 2 -6 cm wide. The flowers are on top of leafy stalks.
Gigantochloa verticillata - Whorled Bamboo, Giant Stripy Bamboo
Edible Portion: Shoots
A bamboo. It grows 20-40 m high. It forms many tillers. The stems can be 25 cm thick. They have drooping tops. They are light green and have yellow stripes. The leaves are broadly sword shaped. They are 13-45 cm long by 2-7 cm wide.
Himalayacalamus hookerianus - Himalayan Blue Bamboo
Edible Portion: Seeds, Cereal, Shoots
A bamboo. It grows 6 m tall. It grows in clumps and keeps growing from year to year. The stems are 5-9 m long and 2-4 cm wide. The internodes are 15-20 cm long. The culm sheaths are 30-40 cm long. The leaf blades are narrowly sword shaped and 15-30 cm long by 1-4 cm wide.
