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
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Lawsonia inermis
Edible : Food coloring, Leaves - flavoring, Medicinal, Caution.
A shrub. It has a sweet smell. It grows 3-7 m tall. The bark is greyish-brown. The small branches have spines near their tip. The leaves are simple and opposite. The leaves vary and can be oval and 8-44 mm long by 2-20 mm wide. The flower panicles are 3-22 cm long. They are near the ends of branches. The flowers are white or red and have a scent. The fruit is a small round capsule. It is brown and splits into 4 sections. The seeds are angular and 3 mm across
It is a tropical plant. It grows in the Sahel area in West Africa. It can grow in arid places. It tends to grow near water courses in semi-arid regions. At MARDI.
Other Names : Alcana, Alfeneiro, Camphire, Cilaan, Dan, Heenaa, Kuku pacar, Mendhi, Perdu mendi, Henna, Tree mignonette,
Synonyms :
Lawsonia alba Lam.;
Lawsonia spinosa Linn.;
