List of edible seeds

A list of edible seeds here includes seeds that are directly foodstuffs, rather than yielding derived products.

A variety of species can provide edible seeds. Of the six major plant parts, seeds are the most important source of human food. The other five major plant parts are roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Most edible seeds are angiosperms, but a few are gymnosperms. The most important seed food source is cereals, followed by legumes, and nuts.

The list is divided into the following categories:

• Beans (or Legumes) are protein-rich soft seeds.
• Cereals (or grains) are grass-like crops that are harvested for their dry seeds. These seeds are often ground to make flour. Cereals provide almost half of all calories consumed in the world.^[1] Botanically, true cereals are members of the Poaceae or Grass family.
  • Pseudocereals are cereal crops that are not members of the Poaceae or Grass Family.
• Nuts are botanically a specific type of fruit but the term is also applied to many edible seeds that are not botanically nuts.
  • Gymnosperms produce nut-like seeds but neither flowers nor fruits.

Contents 1 Beans 2 Cereals 2.1 Pseudocereals 3 Nuts 3.1 Nut-like gymnosperm seeds 4 Other 5 References 6 See also

Beans

See also: Category:Edible legumes, Seed cake

Beans, also known as legumes or pulses include:^[2]

Although some beans can be consumed raw, some need to be heated before consumption. In certain cultures, beans that need heating are initially prepared as a seed cake. Beans that need heating include:^[3]

• Acacia spp. (e.g. Acacia aneura (mulga), Acacia cowleana, Acacia estrophiolata (ironweed), Acacia ligulata (umbrella bush), Acacia murrayana (tjuntjula), Acacia tetragonophylla (wakalpulka), Acacia kempeana (Witchetty bush), Acacia coriacea (Wiry wattle), Acacia notabilis, Acacia pyrifolia, Acacia tetragonophylla, Acacia victoriae, Acacia sophorae, Acacia stenophylla, Acacia tumida)
• Aleurites moluccana
• Atriplex nummularia (Old man saltbush)
• Panicum spp. (e.g. Panicum australiense, Panicum decompositum, Panicum effusum)
• Amaranthus mitchellii
• Amaranthus grandiflorus
• Brachiaria spp. (e.g. Brachiaria piligera Brachiaria milliformis)
• Brachychiton spp. (e.g. Brachychiton diversifolium Brachychiton gregorii, Brachychiton paradoxum, Brachychiton populneum)
• Bruguiera rheedii
• Calandrinia balonensis
• Canarium australianum
• Canavalia maritima
• Entada phaseolides
• Eragrostris spp. (Wangunu) (e.g. Eragrostris eriopoda)
• Eucalyptus leptopoda
• Eucalyptus microtheca
• Astrelba pectinata (Mitchell grass)
• Portulaca oleracea
• Portulaca intraterranea
• Marsilea drummondii (Nardoo)
• Nymphae gigantea
• Rhyncharrhena linearis
• Themeda australis

Cereals

True cereals are the seeds of certain species of grass. Three — maize, wheat and rice — account for about half of the calories consumed by people every year.^[1] Grains can be ground to make flour, used as the basis of bread, cake, noodles or other food products. They can also be boiled or steamed, either whole or ground, and eaten as is. Many cereals are present or past staple foods, provided a large fraction of the calories in the places that they are eaten. Cereals include:

Pseudocereals

Nuts

See also: List of edible nuts

According to the botanical definition, nuts are a particular kind of seed.^[4] Chestnuts, hazelnuts, and acorns are examples of nuts, under this definition. In culinary terms, however, the term is used more broadly to include fruits that are not botanically qualified as nuts, but that have a similar appearance and culinary role. Examples of culinary nuts include almonds, peanuts and cashews.^[5][6]

Nut-like gymnosperm seeds

Other

References

1. ^ ^{a b} FAO. "ProdSTAT". FAOSTAT. http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx. Retrieved 2006-12-26. 
2. ^ "Pulses and derived products". Definition and Classification of Commodities. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1994. http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/faoinfo/economic/faodef/fdef04e.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-26. 
3. ^ Isaacs, Jennifer. Bush food: Aboriginal food and herbal medicine. 
4. ^ "Nut". Biology Online Dictionary. October 3, 2005. http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Nut. Retrieved 2006-12-26. 
5. ^ "Nut". The Columbia Online Encyclopedia. 2003. http://www.answers.com/topic/nut. Retrieved 2006-12-26. 
6. ^ "Nuts and derived products". Definition and Classification of Commodities. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1996. http://www.fao.org/es/faodef/fdef05e.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-26. 

• Bailey, L.H., Bailey, E.Z. and Bailey Hortorium Staff (1976). Hortus Third. New York: Macmillan. 
• Lewington, A. (1990). Plants for People. Cambridge, MA: Oxford University Press. 

See also