Food Plants International - Publications Edible Terminalia fruit and nuts

Normally Terminalia trees are large trees with a distinctive type of branching. Often the branches are thick and come out on layers parallel to the ground. Then they have short thick spurs and the leaves are clustered on the spurs. Many Terminalias are useful timber trees and in some areas they form extensive forests. They grow throughout the tropics.

There may be 200-250 different Terminalia species and at least 50 are used as food by people in different locations in the world. It is usually the fruit or nuts that are eaten but sometimes the gum is eaten. This article is about edible Terminalias. It is compiled from the Food Plants International database of edible plants of the world.

One species grows right on the edge of the beach in almost every tropical beach of the world. This one is Terminalia catappa. It provides lovely shade along the beach front and provides fruit that are chewed and edible kernels or nuts that are especially eaten by children. The fleshy part is rich in protein and the kernel or nut is especially rich in zinc. Children need zinc to grow tall. This book documents a number of the edible terminalia. A more exhaustive search can be found in the edible plants database on the Food Plants International website at www.foodplantsinternational.com