Plants For A Future

THE FIELD, PENPOL, LOSTWITHIEL, CORNWALL, PL22 0NG
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Edible uses

To make it easy to search the database for plants which fulfil a specific use, a table has been created which indexes the different plants by their edible uses. You can select one of the uses shown below and then do a search to find all plants with that use. More detailed on the uses is contained in the edible uses field in the main database table. You can click on a use to show those plants with a given use, numbers refer to the number of plants listed with that use.
Chocolate (8)
substitutes for chocolate, that is.
Coffee (219)
the various substitutes that can be used instead of coffee.
Colouring (47)
edible dyes
Condiment (530)
the various plants that are used as flavourings (683), either as herbs (256), spices (50) or condiments (126).
Curdling agent (16)
used to curdle soya milk in making cheese. See also rennet/Coagulant (13).
Drink (112)
not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes. See also beer (71) and beverage (56).
Egg (5)
Substitutes for eggs.
Flowers (657)
Speaks for itself.
Fruit (1666)
Including berries (50).
Gelatine (3)
substitutes that is.
Gum (110)
can be chewed as a chewing gum or can often be used as a sweetener or thickening agent in foods.
Inner bark (131)
the bark that is found just beneath the tough outer bark of trees and shrubs.
Leaves (2368)
Speaks for itself.
Manna (39)
this is a sweet substance that exudes naturally from certain plants, usually from the stems.
Milk (7)
made from plants, that is.
Nectar (23)
produced in such abundance by some flowers that it can be harvested fairly easily.
Oil (221)
Usually obtained from seeds, it is used in cooking, for salad dressings etc.
Pectin (13)
a substance that is used to thicken jams etc and as a culture medium in laboratories.
Pollen (18)
Most pollens are edible, they are normally too fiddly to harvest.
Root (1145)
includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Rutin (17)
often used as a food supplement.
Salt (16)
plants that provide a substitute for salt.
Sap (77)
usually of trees and usually but not always used as a drink.
Seed (1274)
includes nuts (46), cereals (246), peas (43) and beans (44).
Seedpod (107)
things such as Okra, French and Runner beans.
Stabilizer (1)
this is often a gum and could perhaps be included there.
Stem (329)
this often intergrades into leaves.
Sweetener (79)
includes sugar substitutes.
Tea (599)
the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.
Heres some other food uses which you may find useful:
bread (578), salad (700), garnish (139), pies (220), Jellies (130), cake (155), biscuits (70), jams (100), preserves (229), fermented (200), soup (492), stew (161), sauces (57), pickle (127), puddings (127), salep (158) a fine powder obtained from orchids. It is a starch-like substance with a sweetish taste and a faint somewhat unpleasant smell. It is made into a drink or can be added to cereals and used in making bread. One ounce of salep is said to be enough to sustain a person for a day. spice (50), starch (349), sugar (228), meal (99), curry (38), spinach substitute (162), asparagus substitute (162), potato substitute (88), rice substitute or flavouring (61), okra substitute (50), mustard (97), syrup (158), porridge (158), vinegar (44), dessert (44), nectar (43), confections (32), gruel (31), dumplings (25).

Tastes & Smells

Flavour
flavour (2140), pleasant flavour (110), good flavour (30), agreeable flavour (29), delicious flavour (45), aromatic flavour (34), little flavour (28), nice flavour (23), excellent flavour (14), food flavouring (111).
almonds flavour (160), bitter flavour (118), onion flavour (95), juicy flavour (86), vanilla flavour (63), nutty flavour (58), lemony flavour (58), sorrel flavour (53), salty flavour (27), arrowroot flavour (25), spicy flavour (25), spinach flavour (23), mustard flavour (20), peppery flavour (19), sweet flavour (130), mild flavour (104), acid flavour (77), resinous flavour (42), cress-like flavour (29), bland flavour (28), garlic flavour (24), sharp flavour (22), strong flavour (21), pungent flavour (20), delicate flavour (18), aniseed flavour (14), creamy flavour (13), sour flavour (11), rich flavour (11), pleasantly flavour (10), hot flavour (10), cucumber flavour (10), milder flavour (9), sweetish flavour (9), well flavour (8), strongly flavour (8), cabbage flavour (8), liquorice flavour (7), anise flavour (6), celery-like flavour (6), starchy flavour (6), watercress flavour (6), cherry flavour (5), pea flavour (5), tart flavour (5), poor flavour (5), acrid flavour (5),
Taste
taste (888), good taste (7), delicious taste (19), aromatic taste (4), bitter taste (199), simple taste (69), sweet taste (59), pleasant taste (34), acid taste (27), acrid taste (22), nutty taste (22), sweetish taste (19), sour taste (13), astringent taste (9), salty taste (8), hot taste (7), pungent taste (5), sub-acid taste (4), peppery taste (4), agreeable taste (4), strong taste (3), soapy taste (3), refreshing taste (3), spicy taste (3), mellow taste (2), unpleasant taste (6), rank taste (6), terrible taste (2), nauseating taste (1).
Texture
wooly in texture (25), mucilaginous texture (17), mealy texture (15), floury texture (13), flouy texture (13), open texture (10), juicy texture (10), crisp texture (9), soft texture (8), oily texture (6), tender texture (5), pleasant texture (4), gritty texture (4), crunchy texture (3),
Aroma
fragrance (95), scent (317), aroma (750), very aromatic (60), strongly aromatic (30),
Smell
smell (319), foetid smell (82), unpleasant smell (44), aromatic smell (17), pungent smell (12), hawthorn-like smell (8), strong smell (7), resinous smell (4), sweet smell (4),

Properties of Plants

Vitamins & Minerals

Proteins, Fats etc.
Protein (309), Rich in Protein (40), Fat (309) mono and poly-unsaturated (12), Carbohydrate (100), Fibre (423), Ash (180).
Minerals
minerals (453), sodium (11), potassium (32), calcium (179), phosphorus (21), magnesium (22), iron (76), sulphur (69), zinc (7), copper (31), iodine (4), manganese (2).
Vitamins
Vitamins (695), Vitamin A (40) (Retinol), Vitamin B (130), Vitamin B1 (10) (Thiamine (11)), Vitamin B2 (1) (Riboflavin (12)), Vitamin B3 (Niacin (14)), Vitamin B6 (3) (Pyridoxine), Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) (2), Vitamin B17 (4), choline (1), Vitamin C (177) (Ascorbic Acid (7)), Vitamin D (1), Vitamin E (60), Vitamin F (Linoleic Acid (12), Linolenic Acid (8), Essential Fatty Acids (109)), Vitamin K (4) (Napthaquinone), Vitamin P (1) (bioflavinoids (1)).
Types of Acid
oxalic acid (317), prussic acid (126), hydrocyanic acid (122), cyanide (120), salicylic acid (90), erucic acid (7), equisetic acid (6), aristolochic acid (5), amino acid (3), acetic acid (3), malic acid (3), gamma-linolenic acid (3), sulphuric acid (2), comisic acid (1), arabinic acid (1), linoleic acid (1), salycylic acid (1), phenolic acid (1), oleic acid (1), lactic acid (1), l-glutamic acid (1), fumaric acid (1), citric acid (1).
acid flavour (77), acid taste (27), aspirin (24), acid fruits (6), acid tasting (3), acid lysine (2), acid lemony (2), acid creosote (2), acid sorrel-like (2).

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2000. Last Update: Feb 2000.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page
Plants for a Future, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK.
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