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Plant Uses
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Edible Uses
Plant Uses / Edible

There are over 20,000 species of edible plants in the world yet fewer than 20 species now provide 90% of our food. However, there are hundreds of less well known edible plants from all around the world which are both delicious and nutritious.

You can see our top rated edibles here

The articles below highlight some of the more unusual edible plants.

  1. Alternative Food Crops
  2. Alternative Fruits
  3. Alternative Root Crops
  4. Alternative Edible Leaves
  5. Edible Flowers
  6. Winter Salads
  7. Staple seed crops from perennials
  8. Vegetable Oils
  9. Fruit: Food of the Gods
  10. Green Gold - The Leaves of Life!
  11. Useful Weeds
  12. Annuals in the Perennial Garden
Database
Top Rated plants, 154 plants we consider the best for edibility.
Edible Part
  • Apical bud  Typically, the end of a shoot contains an apical bud, which is the location where shoot growth occurs.( 20 )
  • Flowers  ( 813 )
  • Fruit  ( 2046 )
  • Inner bark  the bark that is found just beneath the tough outer bark of trees and shrubs.( 183 )
  • Leaves  ( 2714 )
  • Manna  this is a sweet substance that exudes naturally from certain plants, usually from the stems.( 44 )
  • Nectar  produced in such abundance by some flowers that it can be harvested fairly easily.( 31 )
  • Oil  Oil( 713 )
  • Pollen  ( 23 )
  • Root  includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.( 1253 )
  • Sap  usually of trees and usually but not always used as a drink.( 126 )
  • Seed  includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.( 1641 )
  • Seedpod  things such as Okra, French and Runner beans.( 172 )
  • Shoots  ( 826 )
  • Stem  this often intergrades into leaves.( 424 )
Edible Uses
  • Chocolate  substitutes for chocolate, that is. ( 15 )
  • Coffee  the various substitutes that can be used instead of coffee. ( 254 )
  • Colouring  edible dyes ( 62 )
  • Condiment  the various plants that are used as flavourings, either as herbs, spices or condiments. ( 640 )
  • Curdling agent  used to curdle soya milk in making cheese. ( 17 )
  • Drink  not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes. ( 287 )
  • Egg  Substitutes for eggs. ( 5 )
  • Gelatine  substitutes that is. ( 4 )
  • Gum  can be chewed as a chewing gum or can often be used as a sweetener or thickening agent in foods. ( 285 )
  • Milk  made from plants, that is. ( 21 )
  • Oil  ( 713 )
  • Pectin  a substance that is used to thicken jams etc and as a culture medium in laboratories. ( 23 )
  • Rutin  often used as a food supplement. ( 18 )
  • Salt  plants that provide a substitute for salt. ( 30 )
  • Stabilizer  this is often a gum and could perhaps be included there. ( 3 )
  • Sweetener  includes sugar substitutes. ( 111 )
  • Tea  the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article. ( 676 )
 
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