Guide to Plant Relationships

(for food allergy and intolerance identification)

Jack Campin

Version 14 (22 January 2008); the current version of this and related files can be obtained from my food intolerance and healthy eating page

Introduction

This is a list of plant groups - primarily food plants, with some medicinal plants and other species that people may come into close contact with - intended to assist people with food intolerances and allergies. In many cases, substances that cause allergy - usually proteins - are common to plants that are evolutionarily related, so knowing the evolutionary relationships can help predict when bad reactions are likely to plants you haven't tried yet.

Naming and Searching: To make these classifications precise, there is no avoiding scientific names - there are many totally unrelated plants with 'apple' in their common name, for example, and nobody is going to be allergic to all of them (allergies are caused by chemicals, not words). When searching this list for anything at all unusual, try variants of the common name, look around related plants to be sure you've got the right one, and don't stop at the first match; keep searching till you've found everything that might fit (and God help you if you can't spell; if anybody has ideas about how to do approximate searching portably in HTML browsers, get in touch).

Classifications: Generally, the closer the relationship, the more likely two plants are to have similar chemistry and produce the same sort of allergic response. But chemicals don't always occur in just one grouping - there may be isolated plants or groupings of plants with no close relationship that have evolved similar substances. Often the family level is the one that matters, but don't count on it. I've placed the families into higher-level classifications, but bear in mind that they may sometimes be of more botanical than medical relevance.

Uses: There are two intended uses for this information. Firstly, these groups are a guide to foods allergic people might have to avoid that they might not otherwise think of. Secondly, they are meant as a guide to what you can eat; to stimulate the imagination to consider fruit and vegetables that might not have occurred to you as a primary food source. All the food plants here have been eaten by whole nations for centuries - you can't ask for better testing than that. This is also the reason why I have given so much detail about closely related species and varieties - in some cases allergies may be very specific, and only one out of several plants bearing the same common name may be the one causing problems.

Hazards: Unless I have a note describing some other use for it, every entry in the list describes a food plant. Poisonous plants are all identified as such. In some cases I've added notes about possible harmful effects (to at least some people) of generally safe food plants. I'll add more of these when I get time. This is not intended to be a herbal. The notes on herbal usage are intended as cautions on prescribing; for example, a herbalist might suggest feverfew for migraine - if you also have ragweed allergy, you need to know that this might be a problem. Herbals say what to use, this says what not to. If the entry says I don't know what the plant is used for, play safe and assume it will at least make your toes fall off.

How it Works: plants are divided into six divisions: clubmosses, horsetails, ferns, cycads, ginkgos, conifers, gnetums and angiosperms (listed roughly in the order in which they first evolved). The angiosperms (by far the biggest division) split into two classes: dicotyledons (the older grouping: broadleaf plants) and monocotyledons (the more recently evolved grasses, palms and relatives). These in turn have subclasses (with a '-florae' suffix); the subclasses divide into orders (with an '-ales' suffix); orders divide into families (with an '-ae' or '-aceae' suffix); families into genuses; and genuses into species (the last two with no fixed spelling rules, except that species don't have capital letters). The genus and species together make up the botanical name of a plant, like Zea mays, maize.

Some big families can be split into subfamilies and tribes, and some species into varieties; subfamilies are notably important for the grains, Poaceae, where only one subfamily, Pooideae, has the allergen responsible for coeliac disease.

All the groupings from subclass downwards are listed alphabetically within their enclosing group, which is not the way most botany books do it. Each grouping above the genus level has a note under its title which can be clicked on to go to higher points in the classification system. I think this is the best way to show how close the relationship between any two plants is and pinpoint the scope of an allergic cross-reaction, but if anyone has a better idea I'll consider it.

Terminology: I've tried to use current botanical names for species and groupings (mostly the Cronquist system, from Stace and Mabberley), but I've often listed older names as well, since these are still current in herbals, cookbooks, and the like.

Help Needed: This is not a complete reference and it never will be. Meanwhile, some requests for further information:

1. Any plant foods I've left out. Nothing is too obscure. If your locality makes custard out of a spiny gourd with blue flesh that grunts when you pick it, I want to know about it.
2. Cross-family reactions to allergens that have evolved independently.
3. Corrections to major taxonomic booboos or warnings of disputed placements.
4. Warnings about when variations of cultivation or breeding practices make a difference relevant to allergenicity.
5. Data on animal feeds, so as to aid prediction of when allergens may cross over into meat, eggs and milk.
6. Some idea of which floral allergens end up in which kinds of honey.
7. More data on plants used as feedstocks for refined food ingredients like emulsifiers, gelling agents and flavour enhancers.
8. HTML problems with this document - misformatting or things that don't work on some browsers. I've used very few kinds of tag and only occasional special characters, but this is much bigger than most HTML documents.

Feedback: There are many substances listed below that I've never heard of anyone being allergic to, but without information like this many allergies must be going untraced; if this list helps you identify a hitherto unsuspected cross-reaction between things you didn't realize were related, I'd like to hear about it.

Language: I haven't tried to be multilingual; the common names I've given are nearly all those used in the English-speaking world (though in many cases these are not of English origin). I don't trust my ability to deal with ambiguous plant naming in every language on the planet, and I don't have a reliable informant. If you prepare versions of this in other languages, please let me know and I'll add links to them.

Scope: However, I am trying to be multicultural. People with food allergies often have to look for alternative foods from outside the culture they grew up in; and I want this to be useful over as wide a geographical area as possible. So there are many foods you've never heard of before.

Coming Soon: Similar documents about fungi and food-related microbes will be along in due course. This one only does terrestrial green plants so far; I'll add edible seaweeds in the near future.

Acknowledgements, Disclaimer and Ulterior Motives: The idea of a list like this came from Betsy Wilson (Elizabeth.Wilson@jpl.nasa.gov), but this one is far larger than hers. It would not have been possible without inspiration from Marion Bowles (marion at purr.demon.co.uk), an allergy dietitian based in Edinburgh who you can call on to help put this stuff into practice. I have no formal training in medicine or biology beyond high school. If you think you can employ someone capable of researching an unfamiliar subject unassisted and producing a document like this, give me a call.

Restrictions: Copyright Jack Campin. This file may only be redistributed complete and unchanged, except for conversions of line-termination and between character sets; no charge whatever may be made for it; any service that stores a copy of it must provide free and unrestricted access to it; it may not be included on any CD-ROM or other distribution media for which any payment is required; and professionals making use of it for any purpose that earns them money must notify their clients or patients of its existence and offer them unlimited free access to it in any case where it is consulted.

Food allergy resources on this site

My home page

Division LYCOPODIOPSIDA Clubmosses and Quillworts

Family Lycopodiaceae Clubmosses

• Lycopodium
  • L. clavatum Stag's Horn Clubmoss, Ground Pine, Common Club Moss, Vegetable Sulphur, Wolf's Claw - spores used as theatrical flash powder, for dusting fingerprints, and for preventing latex condoms or gloves from sticking together when rolled up; may be seriously allergenic; the plant itself is poisonous
  • L. complanatum American Club Moss, American Ground Pine - used like L. clavatum

Division EQUISETOPSIDA Horsetails

Family Equisetaceae Horsetails

• Equisetum
  • E. arvense Horsetail, Shave Brush - heads eaten as a vegetable, pickled in Japan; stems used in herbal medicine
  • E. hyemale used in Chinese medicine

Division CYCADOPSIDA Cycads

Family Cycadaceae

• Cycas Cycads - most species contain a neurotoxic substance that produces progressive paralysis and Alzheimer's-like dementia
  • C. beddomei eaten as flour in India
  • C. circinalis eaten as a starch in the Western Pacific
  • C. media seeds eaten boiled by Aborigines in Arnhem Land

Division FILICOPSIDA Ferns

Order Filicales

Family Adiantiaceae Maidenhair Fern

• Adiantum Maidenhair fern - used for for coughs and other respiratory complainst since antiquity; once popular as 'sirop de capillaire', a cough mixture made from the rhizomes and fronds, flavoured with orange blossoms
  • A. aethiopicum used by Aborigines in Australia to soothe bronchial complaints.
  • A. pedatum from America and Japan - used in similar ways

Family Aspleniaceae Spleenwort

• Asplenium nidus Birdsnest Fern - leaves eaten as a cooked vegetable in Melanesia and for wrapping food to be cooked

Family Cyatheaceae

• Cyathea medullaris Mamaku, Black Tree Fern - pitch once eaten as a starch by the Maori

Family Dryopteridaceae Buckler-Fern

• Dryopterix filis-mas Male Fern - used as famine food in Scandinavia; commonly used for killing intestinal parasites

Family Dennstedtiaceae Bracken

• Pteridium Bracken - note that raw bracken enzymes destroy vitamin B1
  • P. acuilinium English Bracken
  • P. aquilinum Fiddlehead Fern - shoots eaten; probably carcinogenic
  • P. esculentum New Zealand Bracken - rhizomes formerly eaten by the Maori

Order Salviniales

Family Azollaceae

• Azolla pinnata Azolla - a water plant used for nitrogen fixation in rice paddies

Division PINOPSIDA Conifers, Gymnosperms

Family Araucariaceae Monkey-Puzzle

• Araucaria Monkey-Puzzle Trees - seeds eaten
  • A. angustifolia Parana Pine - from Brazil
  • A. araucana from Chile
  • A. bidwillii Bunya-Bunya from Queensland

Family Cupressaceae Cypress

• Cupressus sempervirens Italian Cypress, Cemetery Cypress - oil used in cosmetics, aftershaves and soap, and in aromatherapy
• Juniperus
  • J. communis Common Juniper - berries used for flavouring
  • J. deppeana pachphlaea a Mexican fruit
  • J. oxycedrus Prickly Juniper - the roots are used for making Oil of Cade, a mainly veterinary worm medicine
  • J. recurva - burnt as incense in India
  • J. virginiana Pencil Cedar - wood used for making pencils
• Thuja
  • T. occidentalis White Cedar, Eastern Arbor Vitae - whole plant and oil used medicinally; toxic
  • T. plicata Western Red Cedar

Family Pinaceae Pine

• Abies
  • A. alba bark resin used to make Strassburg turpentine; buds and leaves used in cough medicines and for 'pine' scents
  • A. balsamea Balsam Fir - the liquid resin (Balm of Gilead, Canada Balsam, Canada Turpentine) is used medicinally e.g. in Friar's Balsam; once heavily used as an optical cement and sometimes for surgical dressings
• Cedrus libani Cedar of Lebanon - oil used in herbal medicine, cosmetics, embalming and aromatherapy
• Larix Larch - inner bark used medicinally
  • L. decidua European Larch
  • L. laricina Eastern Larch, Tamarack
• Pinus
  • P. cembra Arolla Pine - used for pine nuts in Eastern Europe
  • P. cembroides Mexican Nut Pine
  • P. gerardiana Gerard's Pine - seeds eaten in the Himalayas
  • P. halepensis Aleppo Pine - sap produces a resin used for turpentine and for flavouring Greek 'retsina'
  • P. pinaster Maritime Pine - sap used for turpentine
  • P. pinea Pine Nut, Pignolia, Pignon, Pinon Nut
  • P. sylvestris Scots Pine, Scotch Fir, Norway Pine - used in herbal medicine for lung disorders (decoctions of buds, leaves or cones)

Family Taxaceae Yew

• Taxus baccata Yew - flesh of the arils (fruit) is edible; all other parts (seeds included) contain a rapidly fatal heart poison

Division GINKGOOPSIDA

Family Ginkgoaceae Ginkgo

• Ginkgo biloba Maiden Hair Tree - used medicinally; nuts eaten at Chinese weddings

Division GNETOPSIDA

Family Gnetaceae

• Ephedra all species contain the stimulant drug ephedrine
  • E. americana used in Aztec ritual; smoked with tobacco as a headache remedy
  • E. californica
  • E. distachya
  • E. fragilis
  • E. nevadensis Mormon Tea, Popotillo - used as a stimulant tea
  • E. sinica Ma-Huang - contains large amounts of ephedrine
  • E. vulgaris
• Gnetum gnemon Melinjo, Belinjo, Spinach Joint Fir - fruit and kernels eaten in the Far East; used for making Indonesian 'emping' snacks

Division ANGIOSPERMS, MAGNOLIOPSIDA

Class Dicotyledons, Magnoliidae

Subclass ASTERIFLORAE

Order Asterales

Family Asteraceae, Compositae Daisies

Ragweed is a member of this family, and a particularly important allergen in North America; ragwort (not quite as bad) is important in Europe. This explains reactions to camomile tea in ragweed- or ragwort-sensitive people; they may also react to the insecticide pyrethrum, made from a kind of chrysanthemum.

Subfamily Asteroideae

Tribe Anthemideae

• Anacylus pyrethrum Pellitory - used for toothache, also known as Pyrethrum but distinct from the insecticidal plant, Chrysanthemum cinerarifolium; also distinct from Pellitory-of-the-wall, Parietaria officinalis
• Anthemis nobilis, Chamaemelum nobile Camomile
• Artemisia
  • A. abrotanum Southernwood
  • A. absinthium Wormwood - used for flavouring wines and spirits, herbal treatment for worms
  • A. annua Sweet Wormwood - used as an antimalarial in China
  • A. apiacea used as an antimalarial in China
  • A. dracunculoides Russian Tarragon
  • A. dracunculus Tarragon, French Tarragon, German Tarragon
  • A. tridentata, Seriphidium tridentatum Sagebrush - used in Native American herbal medicine
  • A. vulgaris Mugwort
• Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums
  • C. balsamita, Tanacetum balsamita Alecost, Costmary
  • C. cinerarifolium Pyrethrum - used as an insecticide
  • C. coronarium Garland Chrysanthemum, Shungiku, Japanese Greens - used as a leaf vegetable in China and Japan
  • C. indicum flowers part of the Taoist elixir of immortality
  • C. leucanthemum White Weed, Golden Daisy, Herb Margaret, Maudlinwort, Ox-eye Daisy, White Daisy - used in herbal medicine
  • C. morifolium Tea Chrysanthemum - flowers used as a tea and in Chinese medicine
  • C. parthenium Feverfew - used for treating migraine
• Matricaria recutita Wild Camomile, German Camomile
• Santolina used similarly to Lavender, Lavandula but unrelated
  • S. chamaecyparissus, S. incana Cotton Lavender, French Lavender
  • S. pinnata, S. neapolitana
  • S. rosmarinifolia
  • S. S. viridis, S. virens Holy Flax
• Tanacetum vulgare Tansy - used in herbal medicine for treating worms

Tribe Astereae

• Aster
  • A. amellus root used in Chinese medicine
  • A. ciliolatus Small Love Medicine
  • A. ericoides Big Love Medicine - smoked, used in herbalism and in traps to attract animals
• Bellis perennis Lawn Daisy - leaves and petals eaten in salads; flowers made into tea
• Solidago Goldenrod - grown as an ornamental plant; used in herbal medicine both in the West and China; leaves and flowers used for a yellow dye; very commonly cross-reacts with established ragweed allergy
  • S. californica
  • S. canadensis
  • S. odora
  • S. virgaurea Hsiao Pai-Lung

Tribe Calendulae

• Calendula officinalis Pot Marigold, Garden Marigold, Holigold, Mary Bud, Marigold - used like saffron, in salads, and in herbal medicine

Tribe Heliantheae

• Ambrosia
  • A. artemisiifolia Ragweed
  • A. psilostachya burned in Native American sweat lodges
  • A. trifida Giant Ragweed
• Arnica toxic; used medicinally
  • A. angustifolia
  • A. montana Arnica, Leopard's Bane
• Calea zacatechichi smoked or drunk as a tea to treat fever and nausea and communicate with spirits by the Chontal Indians of Mexico - mild hallucinogen
• Echinacea Purple Coneflower - used in herbal medicine
  • E. angustofolia
  • E. pallida
  • E. purpurea
• Eclipta prostrata Tatoo Plant - leaf-juice used for a blue skin dye
• Galinsoga parviflora Linn. Guascas, Huascas - a herb used in Colombian cooking
• Guizotia abyssinica Niger - oilseed plant grown in Ethiopia and India
• Helianthus
  • H. annulus Sunflower
  • H. tuberosus Jerusalem Artichoke
• Polymnia sonchifolia, P. edulis Yacon, Chichama, Yakumo, Icama - tubers, stems and leaves all eaten in South America, tubers fermented for alcohol
• Tagetes
  • T. erecta Aztec Marigold, African Marigold - used as a source of the food colouring lutein
  • T. lucida Sweet Marigold - flowers edible; smoked as a hallucinogen by the Huichol Indians, leaf used by the Aztecs to sedate sacrifice victims
  • T. minuta Inca Marigold - used as a protective crop to kill potato eelworm and discourage weeds
  • T. patula - used like Inca Marigold
• Wyethia from Western USA - roots formerly eaten by Native Americans

Tribe Inuleae

• Gnaphalium uliginosum Cudweed - used as an astringent gargle
• Helichrysum italicum Curry Plant - leaf infused for flavouring soups (not eaten); used to produce the aromatherapy oil 'Immortelle'
• Inula helenium Elecampane, Elfdock, Elfwort, Horse-heal, Horse-elder, Scabwort - used in herbalism

Tribe Senecioneae

• Gynura several species used in herbal medicine
  • G. bicolor young shoots eaten; used in herbalism
  • G. divaricata used in Chinese medicine
  • G. procumbens young shoots eaten; used in herbalism
  • G. segetum used in Chinese medicine
• Petasites
  • P. fragrans Winter Heliotrope, Sweet Coltsfoot
  • P. frigidus leaves eaten in the Arctic
  • P. hybridus Butterbur, Bog Rhubarb, Plague Flower - leaves formerly used as rainhats and for wrapping butter; contains toxic alkaloids; used externally in herbalism; flowers used in an attempt to cure bubonic plague
  • P. japonicus leaf-stalk pickled to make Japanese 'Fuki'
  • P. palmatus burned to use ashes as salt
  • P. speciosa burned to use ashes as salt
• Senecio
  • S. jacobaea Ragwort, Dog Standard, Fireweed, Ragweed, St James's Wort, Staggerwort, Stinking Nanny - very common pollen antigen in the UK, sometimes used in herbal medicine; not the same as the American Ragweed but produces similar allergic reactions
  • S. vulgaris Groundsel - used for liver and biliary problems in herbalism
• Tussilago farfara Coltsfoot - used in salad, smoked, and used as a herbal cough medicine

Subfamily Lactucoideae

Tribe Cynareae

• Arctium lappa, Lappa edulis Burdock, Bardana, Burr Seed, Clotbur, Cocklebur, Gobo, Grass Burdock, Hardock, Hareburr, Hurr-Burr, Turkey Burrseed - roots used for tea and other drinks
• Carlina acaulis Stemless Carline Thistle, Dwarf Thistle - flowers eaten, leaves used to curdle milk, roots used in herbalism
• Carthamus tinctorius Safflower
• Centaurea cyanus Cornflower - flowers used in herbalism and as a blue colouring agent
• Cnicus benedictus Blessed Thistle - source of cnicin, a drug used in gout and gastric disorders, seeds formerly used for oil
• Cynara - note that these may curdle breast milk
  • C. cardunculus, Scolymus cardunculus Cardoon
  • C. scolamus Globe Artichoke
• Onopordum acanthium Scots Thistle, Cotton Thistle - flower discs edible (like artichokes), seeds used for oil, leaf juice used in herbalism
• Saussurea lappa Costus, Kuth - oil used in perfumes and hair dyes and in the herbal treatment of skin disease
• Silybum marianum Milk Thistle, Blessed Thistle - used in naturopathic medicine

Tribe Eupatoreae

• Eupatorium
  • E. cannabinum Hemp Agrimony - used in herbalism
  • E. odoratum used in Chinese medicine
  • E. perfoliatum used in herbalism
  • E. purpureum Gravel Root, Sweet Joe Pye - herbal diuretic
• Liatris
  • L. chapmannii used in herbalism
  • L. odoratissima Vanilla Plant - leaves used as an insect repellent; root is a diuretic
  • L. spicata Gay Feather, Button Snakewort - used to flavour tobacco, repel insects and in herbalism
• Stevia rebaudiana Stevia, Sweet Herb of Paraguay - source of the sweetener stevioside

Tribe Lactuceae

• Cichorium
  • C. endivia Endive
  • C. intybus Chicory, Succory, Radicchio, Witloof
• Hieracium pilosella Mouse Ear - herbal cough medicine
• Lactuca Lettuce
  • L. angustana Celtuce, Chinese Lettuce
  • L. sativa Lettuce
  • L. virosa Prickly Lettuce, Poison Lettuce, Wild Lettuce - used as a narcotic or antispasmodic drug
• Launaea taraxacifolia Hangoleita - East African vegetable
• Scorzonera hispanica Scorzonera, Black Salsify
• Sonchus
  • S. alpina Mountain Sow-thistle - used in herbalism
  • S. arvensis Corn Sow-thistle - used in herbalism
  • S. oleraceus Sow Thistle, Common Sow-thistle (Maori) Puha, Rauriki - leaves commonly eaten by the Maori
  • S. palustris Marsh Sow-thistle - used in herbalism
  • S. tartaricus Siberian Sow-thistle - used in herbalism
• Taraxacum Dandelions
  • T. koksaghyz used as a source of rubber in the Soviet Union
  • T. officinale Dandelion - used in salad, roots eaten boiled or roasted to make drinks, flowers used for wine
• Tragopogon
  • T. porrifolius Salsify, Oyster Plant - roots eaten (let me give just one cooking tip in this list: don't try to peel them until after you've boiled them)
  • T. pratensis Goat's Beard, Shepherd's Clock - used like Salsify

Tribe Vernoniae

• Vernonia
  • V. amygdalina used as a chewing stick
  • V. anthelmintica used medicinally
  • V. arborea a timber tree
  • V. conflata Flakwa - used as an aphrodisiac in Ghana

Order Campanulales

Family Campanulaceae

• Campanula rapunculus Rampion - roots and leaves both eaten
• Codonopsis Dang Shen
  • C. lanceolata used in Chinese medicine
  • C. pilosula used like ginseng in Chinese medicine
  • C. tangshen used in Chinese medicine
• Lobelia - all species contain lobeline, an alkaloid similar to nicotine
  • L. cardinalis Cardinal Flower - used for bronchial spasms
  • L. inflata Lobelia, Indian Tobacco, Pokeweed, Emetic Weed - poisonous; has many uses in herbalism and helps tobacco withdrawal
  • L. siphilitica Giant Lobelia - used by Iroquois to treat syphilis
  • L. tupa Devil's Tobacco - smoked as a hallucinogen in the Andes
• Platycodon grandiflorum Balloon Flower, Chinese Bell Flower - leaves used in salads in the Far East; roots (toxic unless treated) used in herbalism

Order Dipsacales

Family Caprifoleaceae Honeysuckle

• Lonicera japonica Japanese Honeysuckle - flowers and stems used in drinks; used in Chinese medicine; berries poisonous
• Sambucus
  • S. caerulea Western Elder
  • S. canadensis, S. pubens American Elder, Golden Elder
  • S. ebulus Dwarf Elder - berries toxic, roots used in herbal medicine
  • S. nigra Elder
  • S. racemosa Red-berried Elder, Red Elder
• Viburnum fruit toxic when raw, edible cooked; used for jelly and alcohol; bark used for fever and cramp by Native Americans
  • V. edule
  • V. opulus Crampbark, Black Haw, Dog Rowan Tree, European Cranberry Bush, Gaitre Berries, Guelder Rose, High Cranberry, Highbush Cranberry, King's Crown, May Rose, Red Elder, Rose Elder, Silver Bells, Snowball Tree, Water Elder, Whitsun Bosses, Whitsun Rose, Wild Guelder Rose
  • V. prunifolium Black-haw, False Cramp Bark, Stagbush
  • V. sterile Guelder Rose
  • V. trilobum

Family Dipsacaceae Teasel

• Dipsacus
  • D. fullonum Common Teasel - used in gypsy medicine and for combing wool, e.g. billiard baize
  • D. japonicum root used in herbalism

Family Valerianaceae Valerian

• Valeriana officinalis Valerian, Heliotrope - used as a sedative and sleeping drug
• Valerianella Cornsalad, Lamb's Lettuce - salad vegetable
  • V. carinata
  • V. dentata
  • V. eriocarpa Italian Cornsalad
  • V. locusta Corn Salad, Lamb's Lettuce, Common Cornsalad, Loblollie, Mache - the commonest species
  • V. rimosa

Order Gentianales

Family Apocynaceae Periwinkles, Dogbanes

• Acokanthera African arrow poisons
  • A. schimperi
  • A. venenata
• Apocynum
  • A. androsaemifolium Dogbane, Bitterroot, Catchfly, Honeybloom, Flytrap, Milk Ipecac, Mountain Hemp, Wallflower, Wandering Milkweed, Western Wallflower, Spreading Dogbane - very poisonous, used in herbalism
  • A. quebrancho-blanco a New World plant containing the aphrodisiac drug yohimbine
• Carissa
  • C. carandas fruit usually pickled
  • C. grandiflora Natal Plum - fruit eaten (toxic, according a phone call I got about this entry)
• Funtumia elastica Silk Rubber Tree - dunno what you do with it
• Landolphia a (former?) source of rubber
  • L. heudeloti
  • L. kirkii
  • L. owariensis
• Rauwolfia serpentina Indian Snakeroot - used to reduce blood pressure and formerly as an antipsychotic tranqullizer
• Strophanthus kombe Kombe Seed - source of the heart drug strophanthin; poisonous; used as an arrow poison in Africa
• Tabernanthe iboga, T. manii an African plant used as a psychedelic and the source of ibogaine, a now-mostly-illegal drug used in psychotherapy and (in Holland) in the treatment of opiate addiction
• Vinca Periwinkles
  • V. rosea Madagascar Periwinkle - used to produce anti-cancer drugs; smoked recreationally but dangerously toxic, causing hair loss, anaemia and nerve damage
• Voacanga dregei Voacanga - used medicinally in Ghana, as an aphrodisiac, and to enhance drummers' performance (my god, I just got sex and drugs and rock'n'roll all into one entry)
• Wrightia
  • W. tinctoria - used for timber; dye from leaves
  • W. tomentosa - used for timber; bark used medicinally; yellow dye from leaves used as a styptic in Nepal

Family Asclepiadaceae Milkweeds

• Asclepias all species toxic, used medicinally
  • A. speciosa
  • A. syraca
  • A. tuberosa Pleurisy Root, Butterfly Milkweed - used for lung infections
• Cynanchum caudatum Ikema - tubers contain toxic glycosides; formerly used ritually by Ainu shamans after a now-unknown process of detoxification
• Pergularia daemia Korroda - fruits and leaves both eaten

Family Gentianaceae Gentian

• Gentiana lutea Yellow Gentian - root used to flavour 'Suze' liqueur in France
• Centaurium erythraea Centaury

Family Loganiaceae

• Desfontainea spinosa used as a psychedelic in western South America
• Fagraea fragrans Tembusa - ornamental plant sometimes used medicinally in Indonesia
• Spigelia marilandica Pinkroot, Carolina Pink, Maryland Pink, Wormgrass - used as a herbal worm medicine
• Strychnos
  • S. nux-vomica Nux Vomica, Quakers' Buttons - the source of strychnine
  • S. potatorum Clearing Nut - used to settle out sediment in drinking water in India
  • S. tieute Upas Tieute - dunno what this is used for
  • S. toxifera Curare - used as arrow poison in Amazonia

Order Lamialales

Family Boraginaceae Borage

• Alkanna tinctoria Alkanet Root - not sure what you do with it
• Anchusa officinalis Alkanet, Dyer's Bugloss flowers and young leaves eaten in salads and made into conserve; used in dyeing and cosmetics
• Borago officalis Borage
• Cordia
  • C. myxa Sebesten Tree - Egyptian; not sure what you do with it
  • C. subcordata Cordia, (Polynesia) Tou, Kou, (Fiji) Nawanawa - nut kernels eaten
• Echium vulgare Bugloss, Blueweed, Viper's Bugloss - used as a herbal cold remedy
• Lithospermum erythrorhizon - the source of shikonin, used as a red dye and as an anti-bacterial agent in traditional Japanese medicine
• Myosotis
  • M. alpestris Alpine Forget-Me-Not - used in herbalism
  • M. sylvatica Forget-Me-Not, Mouse Ears - flowers used in salads, plant used homoepathically; juice formerly added to molten steel in the belief that it would make it tougher
• Pulmonaria officalis Lungwort, Jerusalem Cowslip - leaves used in soups and to flavour vermouth; used in herbalism
• Symphytum Comfrey
  • S. asperum Prickly Comfrey
  • S. officinale Common Comfrey, Blackwort, Knitbone, Boneset
  • S. x uplandicum Russian Comfrey - hybrid of S. asperum and S. officinale

Family Lamiaceae, Labiatae Deadnettle

Most of this family is not presently classifiable into subfamilies.

Subfamily Lamioideae, Stachydoideae

• Lamium album White Dead Nettle - leaves used as a vegetable and in herbal medicine; unrelated to the true nettles, Urticaceae
• Mentha Mint
  • M. aquatica Water Mint
  • M. arvensis var piperascens Japanese Peppermint
  • M. citrata Orange Mint, Bergamot Mint, Lavender Mint, Eau de Cologne Mint, Orange Mint, Lemon Mint - used in Southern Europe for drinks and for making essential oil
  • M. crispa Curled Mint
  • M. longifolia Horse Mint
  • M. pulegium Pennyroyal - used as a tea and in herbal medicine for menstrual disorders (in large doses it is an abortifacient); distinct from American or Mock Pennyroyal, Hedeoma pulegioides
  • M. x piperata Peppermint - hybrid of M. aquatica and M. spicata
  • M. rotundifolia Round-Leaved Mint
  • M. spicata Spearmint
  • M. suaveolens Apple Mint
• Origanum, Majorana, Marjorana
  • O. hortensis Sweet Marjoram, Knotted Marjoram
  • O. onites Pot Marjoram
  • O. vulgare Wild Marjoram, Oregano
• Pogostemon Patchouli - used for perfume (e.g. to scent India and Chinese ink) and incense; used medicinally in Asia
  • P. cablin Patchouli
  • P. heyeanus, P. patchouli Malayan Patchouli
• Salvia Sage
  • S. colorata Red Sage, Purple Topped Sage - used in herbal medicine
  • S. divinorum Pipilzintzintli, Leaves of the Shepherdess - a psychedelic drug from North America containing 5-methoxydimethyl tryptamine
  • S. elegans, S. rutilans Pineapple Sage, House Plant Sage - used as a herb
  • S. hispanica seeds used for a tonic drink and for oil for artists' paints
  • S. lavandulifolia Narrow Leaf Sage - used as an astringent cleanser
  • S. mellifera Black Sage - often sought out by honey bees
  • S. miltiorrhiza Red-Rooted Sage - roots used in Chinese medicine
  • S. officinalis Sage
  • S. sclaria Clear Eye, Clary - used as a perfume for vermouth and liqueurs and for scenting soap; can cause nightmares when combined with alcohol
  • S. triloba Three-Lobed Sage - used for 'faskomelo' herb tea in Greece
• Stachys
  • S. affinis, S. sieboldii Chinese Artichoke, Chorogi - a tuber grown in China and southern Europe
  • S. betonica, S. officinalis Wood Betony, Bishopswort - leaves made into tea or smoked; used as a herbal treatment for biliousness
• Thymus Thyme
  • T. citriodorus Lemon Thyme
  • T. drucei Wild Thyme
  • T. herba-barona Caraway Thyme
  • T. mastichina Spanish Wood Marjoram
  • T. praecox ssp arcticus Crimson Thyme, Mother of Thyme
  • T. pulegioides Greater Wild Thyme, Mother of Thyme, Doone Valley Lemon Thyme
  • T. serpyllum Breckland Thyme, Creeping Thyme, Mother of Thyme, Serpolet, Wild Thyme
  • T. vulgaris Garden Thyme, Common Thyme, French Thyme

Subfamily Ocimoideae

• Coleus Coleus - leaves of all species mildly psychedelic
  • C. blumei house plant
  • C. edulis grown for its edible bulbs in South Asia
  • C. parviflorus a tuber grown in SE Asia
  • C. blumei house plant
• Ocimum, Ocymum Basil
  • O. basilicum Basil, Basilic, Sweet Basil, St Joseph Wort
  • O. canum Hoary Basil
  • O. gratissimum East Indian Basil, Tea Bush - used as a tea and medicinally
  • O. minimum Bush Basil
  • O. sanctum Holy Basil, Tulasi - extensively used in Hindu religious practice
• Plectanthrus esculentis Hausa Potato - grown in West Africa

Subfamily not assigned

• Agastache
  • A. foeniculum, A. anethiodora Anise Hyssop, Giant Hyssop - used for teas, honey and pot-pourri
  • A. rugosa Korean Mint
• Ajuga
  • A. chamaepitys used in herbalism
  • A. reptans Bugle - eaten in salad and used in herbalism
• Ballota nigra Black Horehound - used as a herbal treatment for lung and gynaecological disorders
• Cedronella canariensis Balm of Gilead, Canary Balm - used as herb tea and pot-pourri
• Collinsonia canadensis Citronella - used for seasoning, flowers used for digestive liqueurs
• Glechoma hederacea Ground Ivy, Alehoof, Field Balm - leaves eaten in salads and as a tea
• Hedeoma pulegioides Mock Pennyroyal, American Pennyroyal
• Hyssopus officinalis Hyssop
• Lagochylus inebrians Intoxicating Mint - mild Central Asian hallucinogen
• Lavandula Lavender - note that French (or Cotton) Lavender, Santolina, is unrelated and in a family that produces allergic reactions more often
  • L. dentata A wild lavender species
  • L. intermedia Hybrid of L. latifolia and L. officinalis
  • L. latifolia, L. spica Broad-leaved Lavender, Aspic - used as an insect repellent
  • L. officinalis, L. vera, L. angustifolia True Lavender, Garden Lavender
  • L. stoechas French Lavender
• Leonotis leonurus Lion's Tail - smoked like tobacco, may be similarly addictive
• Leonurus cordiaca Motherwort, Lion's Tail - used in herbalism; same as Leonotis leonurus?
• Lycopus - may have contraceptive properties
  • L. europaeus Gipsywort - used as a black fabric dye and formerly by Gypsies to darken their skins; astringent and sedative
  • L. virginicus Bugleweed, Sweet Bugle, Water Bugle - used as a herbal treatment for lung haemorrhage
• Marrubium vulgare Horehound, Hoarhound, White Horehound
• Melissa officinalis Balm, Lemon Balm
• Monarda North American Bergamots - all used as teas by Native Americans
  • M. citriodora
  • M. didyma Oswego Tea, Blue Stocking
  • M. fistulosa Wild Bergamot
  • M. menthifolia
  • M. pectina
  • M. punctata Horsemint
• Nepeta
  • N. cataria Catnip - used in salads, in herbal medicine and to send cats out of their tiny minds; unusually high in selenium
  • N. racemosa, N. mussinii Catmint
• Prunella vulgaris Self Heal, Prunella - used as a herbal anti-haemorrhagic
• Rosmarinus officialis Rosemary - used as a herb, poisonous in large quantities
• Satureja Savory
  • S. hortensis Summer Savory
  • S. montana Winter Savory
  • S. spicigera, S. repandra Creeping Winter Savory
• Schizonepeta tenuifolia King-Guy-Soyi - used in herbalism
• Scutellaria
  • S. baicalensis Baikal Skullcap, Huang Qin - used in Chinese medicine
  • S. barbata used in Chinese medicine
  • S. lateriflora Skullcap, Scullcap, Virginia Skullcap - herbal sedative
• Teucrium
  • T. chamedrys Wall Germander - used in tonic wine and vermouth; used in herbal medicine; long-term use may cause liver damage
  • T. marum Cat Thyme - decorative plant attractive to cats
  • T. scorodonia Wood Sage, Garlic Sage, Wood Germander - herbal treatment for colds and menstrual disorders
  • T. viscidum used in Chinese medicine

Family Verbenaceae Vervain

• Lantana camara Lantana, Shrub Verbena - flowers attract honey bees; leaves and root used in herbalism
• Lippia citriodora Lemon-Scented Verbena
• Verbena officinalis Vervain
• Vitex
  • V. agnus-castus Mediterranean Chaste Tree, Agnus Castus - male anti-aphrodisiac, used for menstrual disorders
  • V. negundo Indian Privet, Chinese Vitex - many uses in Chinese medicine

Order Plantaginales

Family Plantaginaceae Plantain

Note that this is entirely unrelated to the banana variety also known as 'plantain'.

• Plantago
  • P. coronopus Buck's Horn Plantain, Star of the Earth, Crow's Foot Plantain, Capuchin's Beard - formerly used as a salad vegetable, resembles dandelion
  • P. indica, P. psyllum, P. ramosa Fleawort - used as a mild laxative, 'psyllium husk'
  • P. major Giant Plantain - used as birdseed in Europe

Order Rubiales

Family Rubiaceae Madder

• Asperula odorata Woodruff, Waldmeister Tea - used as a tea and in herbalism
• Coffea
  • C. arabica Arabica Coffee
  • C. liberica a coffee grown for local consumption in the tropics
  • C. robusta Robusta Coffee
• Cortex cinchona Cinchona, Peruvian Bark - the source of quinine
• Gardenia
  • G. erubescens used as a spice and skin cosmetic in Africa
  • G. jasminoides, G. augusta dried fruit used for tea in the Far East and as a source of the food colouring crocin in the West
• Genipa americana Genipa - used as a body paint in Peru, fruit used to flavour the drink 'genipapo' in Latin America
• Hedyotis used in herbalism
  • H. biflora
  • H. diffusa, Oldenlandia diffusa Snake Tongue Grass, Spreading Hedyotis
• Morinda citrifolia Morinda, (Polynesia) Nono, Noni, (Fiji) Kura, (Micronesia) Non, (Solomons) Urati - fruit eaten, leaves used for dyeing, bark poultice used for drawing boils, green fruit used as an emetic
• Pausinstalia yohimba Yohimbe - an aphrodisiac plant whose active ingredient is the alkaloid yohimbine
• Psychotria several species contain the psychedelic drug dimethyltryptamine and are used in South America as hallucinogens
  • P. ipecacuanha Ipecacuanha - used as an emetic
  • P. viridis added to hallucinogenic snuffs in South America
• Rubia Madder
  • R. cordifolia Indian Madder - used in herbalism
  • R. tinctorium Madder - formerly used as a food colouring; source of the dye alizarin; root used for kidney stones; stem is a laxative
• Uncaria
  • U. gambier Gambier, Pale Catechu - used in lozenges and in dyeing and tanning
  • U. rhynchophylla Pale Catechu - used in Chinese medicine
• Vangueria madagascarensis Murganta - East African fruit
• Ximenia
  • X. coffra Inginkada - East African fruit
  • X. americana False Sandalwood, Seaside Plum, Hog Plum, Kaffir Plum

Order Scrophulales

Family Acanthaceae Bear's-Breech

• Justicia pectoralis used as a hallucinogen in South America

Family Bignoniaceae

• Anemopaegma arvense Tree of Togetherness - aphrodisiac from Belize
• Jacaranda Palisander
  • J. brasiliensis used for wood
  • J. copaia used as a drug
  • J. procera Caaroba, Carob Tree, Caroba, Carobinha - used in herbalism
  • J. lancifolia used as a drug
  • J. mimosaefolia used for wood
  • J. ovalifolia used for wood
  • J. procera used as a drug
• Kigelia africana Sausage Tree, Kigeli-keia - poisonous, used in West African herbal medicine
• Tabebuia impetiginosa Pau d'Arco - used in herbalism

Family Gesneriaceae

• Rehmannia glutinosa Ti Huang - used in herbalism

Family Oleaceae Ash

• Chionanthus virginica Old Man's Beard, Fringe Tree, Snowdrop Tree - used in herbalism
• Fraxinus ornus Flowering Ash, Manna Ash - the sap is the source of Biblical 'manna', still eaten to a small extent in southern Italy and Sicily
• Jasmimum, Jasminum Jasmine - flowers used for tea and in perfumery
  • J. humile Yellow Jasmine
  • J. officinale Common Jasmine
  • J. sambac Arabian Jasmine, Sambac
• Ligustrum Privet
  • L. lucidum Chinese Glossy Privet, White Wax Tree - fruit edible and used in Chinese medicine; leaves used for dyeing; wax produced by insects feeding on the tree
  • L. vulgare leaves used for dyeing, flowers used in perfumery; poisonous
• Olea
  • O. europea Olive
  • O. fragrans Lanhoa - used in herbalism
• Syringa vulgaris Lilac - flowers used for scent

Family Orobanchaceae Broomrape

A family of parasitic plants without chlorophyll (hence not green) used in Chinese medicine.

• Orobanche alba Thyme Broomrape

Family Pedaliaceae Sesame

• Harpagophytum procumbens Devil's Claw - used in herbalism
• Sesamum indicum Sesame, Sim-sim, Benniseed - used for making oil, and in 'halva' and 'hummus' in Middle Eastern cooking; oil may be used for making margarine

Family Scrophulariaceae Figwort

• Bacopa monnieri Bacopa, Water Hyssop - leaves and stems used as a salad vegetable; infusions used in Chinese and Indonesian medicine
• Chelone glabra Balmony, Bitter Herb, Snakehead, Turtle Head, Turtle Bloom - used for treating worms and constipation
• Digitalis Foxgloves - the source of the heart drug digitalis
  • D. lanata Grecian Foxglove
  • D. lutea Straw Foxglove
  • D. purpurea Common Foxglove
• Euphrasia officinalis, E. rostkoviana Eyebright - leaves used for herbal eye lotion
• Halleria lucida Umbinza, African Honeysuckle - fruit eaten in South Africa
• Hebe salicifolia Koromiko - used for stomach complaints in Maori herbal medicine
• Scrophularia
  • S. buergeriana used in Chinese medicine
  • S. ningpoensis Ningpo Figwort - used in Chinese medicine
  • S. nodosa Knotted Figwort, Rosenoble - used in herbalism
• Verbascum thapsus Mullein, Blanket Herb, Candle Flower - used in herbalism for coughs and piles; flowers used to flavour liqueurs
• Veronica officinalis Speedwell - used in herbal medicine

Order Solanales

Family Convolvulaceae Bindweed

• Argyrea nervosa Hawaiian Baby Woodrose - ornamental plant, seeds used as an LSD-like hallucinogen
• Exogonium bracteatum Jicama - Mexican root vegetable eaten raw in salads
• Ipomoea
  • I. aquatica, I. reptans Water Spinach, Swamp Cabbage, (Indonesia) Kangkung - used (mainly in Asia) as a green vegetable
  • I. asarifolia used in Ayurvedic medicine
  • I. batatas Sweet Potato, Kumara
  • I. hederacea Morning Glory - whole plant used as a laxative, seeds hallucinogenic, grown as a decorative plant
  • I. jalap Jalap - a powerful Mexican purgative
  • I. mauritania used in Ayurvedic medicine
  • I. pandurata Wild Jalap, Bindweed, Hog Potato, Man Root, Man-in-the-earth, Scammony, Wild Sweet Potato - used in herbalism as a violent purgative and ringworm medicine
  • I. violacea Morning Glory, Tliltliltzin - ornamental plant, seeds used as an LSD-like psychedelic
• Merremia tuberosa Large Hawaiian Wood Rose - seeds contain an LSD-like hallucinogen
• Turbina corymbosa, Rivea corymbosa Olilioqui - an LSD-like psychedelic used in Mexico

Family Hydrophyllaceae Phacelia

• Phacelia tanacetifolia Phacelia, Fiddleneck - used as a green manure and as a source of nectar for honey bees

Family Menyanthaceae Bogbean

• Menyanthes trifoliata Marsh Trefoil, Bogbean - rhizomes used for flour by the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic; leaves used as a tea and in Sweden as a hop substitute

Family Polemonaceae

• Polemonium caeruleum Jacob's Ladder - formerly used in herbal medicine, now boiled in olive oil to make a hair-blackening lotion

Family Solanaceae Nightshades

Cross-reactions among all members of this family are common. Often aubergine, Solanum melongena, which is an Old World plant, does not produce cross-reactions with the other edible Solanaceae, which are from the Americas.

Honest, I have not made any of these species up.

• Atropa belladonna Deadly Nightshade - poisonous, used as a source of the tropane alkaloid drugs atropine and hyoscyamine
• Brugmansia Tree Daturas - cultivated as hallucinogens in Mexico
• Brunfelsia Borracher - used as ornamental plants in the First World and in South America as tropane hallucinogens
• Capsicum Peppers
  • C. annuum Paprika, Sweet Peppers, Chillies, Wrinkled Peppers
  • C. baccatum Bird Pepper
  • C. cerasiforme Cherry Pepper
  • C. frutescens Chilli, Bird Chilli, Peperoncino
  • C. grossum Bell Pepper
  • C. minimum Chilli
  • C. tetragonum Bonnet Pepper
• Cyphomandra betacea, Solanum fragrans Tamarillo, Tree Tomato, Sacha Tomate
• Datura Thorn Apples - all very poisonous, sometimes used as medicines, hallucinogens or ordeal poisons, contain very large amounts of hyoscine
  • D. ceratocaula a Mexican hallucinogen
  • D. fastuosa used in female initiation rites in southern Africa
  • D. inoxia, D. meteloides Toloache, Thorn Apple - used for initiation and religious ritual among Indians in Mexico and SW US
  • D. metel
  • D. stramonium Jimson Weed
• Hyoscyamus
  • H. albus Wild Henbane - poisonous
  • H. niger Henbane - poisonous, used as a source for the drugs hyoscine (scopolamine) and hyoscyamine
• Iochroma fuchsioides Guatillo, Arbol de Campanilla, Nacadero, Paguanda, Borrachero - smoked or made into tea as a mind-altering drug; probably contains tropane alkaloids
• Latua Arbol de los Brujos, Sorcerers' Tree - a South American hallucinogen
• Lycium chinense Wolfberry, Matrimony Vine, Ji Zi - used as a medicinal tonic food in China
• Lycopersicon esculentum, Solanum lycopersicon Tomato
  • var cerasiforme Cherry Tomato
  • var commune Common Tomato
  • var grandifolium Potato-Leaved Tomato
  • var pyriforme Pear Tomato
  • var validum Upright Tomato
• Mandragora officinarum Mandrake - poisonous, used as a source for the drugs hyoscine (scopolamine), hyoscyamine and mandragorine; distinct from both American Mandrake, Podophyllum peltatum, and English Mandrake, Bryonia dioica
• Methysticondendron Snake Intoxicant - a South American hallucinogen
• Nicandra physaloides Shoo-Fly, Apple of Peru - used as an insect repellent and insecticide (poisonous?)
• Nicotiana Tobaccos
  • N. rustica Nicotine Tobacco, Aztec Tobacco - a high-nicotine mainly used as a source of nicotine and citric acid, but grown for smoking in Russia
  • N. tabacum Tobacco - used as an insecticide, as a drug of abuse, and a occasional suicide poison in prisons; exposure to tobacco smoke is the commonest cause of childhood asthma and responsible for most childhood leukaemias
• Physalis Cape Gooseberry
  • P. alkekengi Winter Cherry, Bladder Cherry, Chinese Lantern Plant - edible but mainly used ornamentally
  • P. ixocarpa Tomatillo, Jamberry, Golden Berry, Sugar Berry
  • P. peruviana, P.edulis, P. peruviana edulis Cape Gooseberry
  • P. pruinosa Ground Cherry, Strawberry Tomato, Husk Tomato, Dwarf Cape Gooseberry
  • P. somnifera - used as a narcotic, as an anti-inflammatory and for coagulating cheese in India
• Solandra maxima Chalice Vine - used as a sacred narcotic in Mexico
• Solanum
  • S. aculeatissimum Soda-apple Nightshade - used in herbalism
  • S. andigena a potato from the Andes
  • S. aviculare Kangaroo Apple - fruit eaten, plant used in steroid drug manufacture; unripe fruit poisonous
  • S. carolinense Apple of Sodom, Bull Nettle, Horsenettle, Poisonous Potato, Sand Brier, Treadfoot - used in herbalism
  • S. dulcamara Nightshade, Bittersweet Nightshade, Blue Nightshade, Bittersweet, Felonwort, Fever Twig, Garden Nightshade, Scarlet Berry, Staff Vine, Violet Bloom, Woody Nightshade - used in herbalism, mostly externally - slightly poisonous
  • S. erianthum Jye-yan-ye, Turkeyberry - used in herbalism
  • S. integrifolium Hmong Eggplant, Tomato Eggplant - used in herbalism
  • S. laciniatum Tasmanian Kangaroo Apple - dunno what this is used for
  • S. mammosum Apple of Sodom, Love Apple, Nipplefruit, Tete De Jeune Fille, Zombi Apple - dunno what this is used for but it better be good
  • S. esculentum, S. melongena Aubergine, Brinjal, Eggplant
  • S. muricatum, S. guatemalense Melon Pear
  • S. nigrum, S. intrusum Garden Huckleberry, European Black Nightshade - not related to the true Huckleberries, Gaylussacia; sometimes used commercially in Europe for making 'blueberry' pies
  • S. oleraceum Jagueribo - used in herbalism
  • S. pseudo-capsicum Jerusalem Cherry, Winter Cherry - used in herbalism
  • S. quitoense Golden Naranjilla, Quito Orange
  • S. sodomaeum Apple of Sodom - used in herbalism
  • S. stramonifolium used as a spice in South-East Asia
  • S. tuberosum Potato
  • S. uporo Cannibal's Tomato - regarded in Fiji as the ideal accompaniment to human flesh, so if you have a nightshade allergy think twice about accepting a dinner invitation from your neighbourhood serial killer
  • S. xanthocarpum Yellow-berried Nightshade - used in herbalism
  • S. violaceum Tibbatu, Terong Pipit - used in Indonesian herbal medicine; contains solanine
• Withania
  • W. coagulans Panirband, Vegetable Rennet - used to curdle milk for cheese
  • W. somnifera Kuthmithi, Clustered Wintercherry - roots used to make the Ayurvedic sedative and diuretic 'ashwagandha', other parts of the plant used as a pain reliever, to kill lice and to make soap

Subclass CARYOPHYLLIFLORAE

Order Caryophyllales

Family Aizoaceae Dew-Plant

• Carpobrotus, Mesembryanthemum Hottentot Figs
  • C. asinaciformis, M. asinaciforme
  • C. edulis, M. edule
• Tetragonia expansa New Zealand Spinach - contains sizable amounts of oxalic acid

Family Amaranthaceae Pigweed

• Aerva lanata Polpala, Pol-kudu-pala - leaves and stems used as a vegetable; used in Ayurvedic and Indonesian medicine
• Amaranthus Amaranth - several species used for grain
  • A. blitus
  • A. caudatus Kiwicha - from the Central Andes of Peru and Bolivia
  • A. dubius
  • A. edulis from southern Bolivia and northern Argentina
  • A. hibridus Hat, Ago - eaten as a vegetable
  • A. hypochondriacus Lady Bleeding, Pilewort, Prince's Feather - grain edible, leaves used as a herbal astringent
  • A. spinosus
• Digera alternifolia Kogata - used as a leaf vegetable in East Africa

Family Basellaceae

• Ullucus tuberosus Olluco - an Andean tuber

Family Cactaceae Cactuses

• Coryphantha macromeris Doñana - hallucinogen, contains macromerine, a mescaline-like compound
• Hylocereus triangularis, Cereus triangularis Pitaya, Strawberry Pear
• Lemairocereus griseus Pitaya
• Lophophora Peyote - used as a hallucinogen, sometimes for religious purposes; contains mescaline
  • L. diffusa a Peyote restricted to northern Mexico
  • L. williamsii True Peyote
• Maguey, Mexican agave - fermented into the Mexican drink 'mescal' no connection with mescaline
• Opuntia Prickly Pear
  • Opuntia ficus-indica Prickly Pear, Indian Fig
  • Opuntia cochinellifera used in Spain and the Canary Islands for feeding cochineal beetles
  • Opuntia vulgaris Prickly Pear
• Pereskia aculeata Barbados Gooseberry
• Selenicereus grandiflorus - flowers used as a stimulant
• Trichocereus pachanoi San Pedro - used as a psychedelic, sometimes mixed with Datura stramonium or powdered human bones in religious rituals; contains mescaline

Family Caryophyllaceae Pink

• Corrigiola littoralis Sergena Root - dunno what you do with it
• Dianthus Pinks, Carnations - flowers all edible
  • D. carthusianorum
  • D. caryphyllus Clove Pink, Gillyflower - petals edible, once heavily used for flavouring syrups, alcohol and vinegar
  • D. chinensis used in Chinese medicine
  • D. deltoides
  • D. plumarius
• Paronychia argentea Algerian Tea - dunno what you do with it
• Saponaria officinalis Soapwort, Bouncing Bet - flowers used in salads and used as beer head stabilizers; other parts contain saponins and can be used for washing sensitive skins or for restoration cleaning in museums; rhizome (toxic unless prepared) used in India to increase milk production in nursing mothers
• Stellaria media Chickweed, Starwort - once used in salads, possibly toxic from saponins; used in herbalism
• Vaccaria hispanica Cow Cockle, Forbidden Palace Flower - used in Chinese medicine for delayed labour and lactation, seeds used in bird food, added to cattle fodder to increase milk production

Family Chenopodeaceae Goosefoot

• Atriplex hortensis Arrach, Orache
• Beta vulgaris Beets
  • var maritima Wild Sea Beet
  • var cicla Spinach Beet (Perpetual Spinach) and Seakale Beet (Swiss Chard)
  • var esculenta Beetroot, Mangel (Mangold, Mangel-Wurzel), Fodder Beets, and Sugar Beet
• Chenopodium
  • C. album Fat Hen, Lamb's Quarters - edible but rather high in oxalic acid
  • C. ambroisoides Epazote, American Wormseed, Fragrant Tiger Bones - a herb used in Mexican cooking
  • C. bonus-henricus Mercury, Good King Henry
  • C. nuttaliae huauzontle - quinoa-like grain formerly grown extensively by the Aztecs
  • C. pallidacaule Kañiwa - a quinoa-like grain from the Andes
  • C. quinoa Quinoa
• Salicornia europaea Marsh Samphire, Glasswort, Saltwort, Samphire - not to be confused with True Samphire, Crithmum maritimum
• Salsola kali Saltwort, Prickly Saltwort, Tumbleweed - young shoots eaten; burned for ash in traditional glassmaking
• Spinacea oloracea Spinach (Round or Summer Spinach and Prickly or Winter Spinach) - contains oxalic acid

Family Nyctagenaceae Four-O'Clock

• Boerhaavia Boerhaavia Weed - roots eaten as a famine food in south-east Asia and the Pacific
• Mirabilis
  • M. expansa Mauka - root vegetable from Bolivia and Ecuador
  • M. jalapa Marvel of Peru, Four O' Clock Plant - leaves eaten in Nepal, powdered seeds used in Japanese cosmetics, other parts used in herbal medicine
  • M. multiflora So'ksi - root used by the Hopi as a hallucinogen

Family Phytolaccaeae

• Phytolacca West Indian 'callaloo' is in this genus
  • P. americana Pokeweed, Pigeon Berry - only young plants are edible, and even they contain large amounts of oxalic acid

Family Portulacaceae Blinks

• Claytonia perfoliata Winter Purslane - used as a winter vegetable in Europe
• Portulaca
  • P. oleracea Purslane, Pigweed - used as a salad or a herb
  • P. quadrifida Mereita - East African vegetable
• Talinum paniculatum used as a spice in South-East Asia

Order Polygonales

Family Polygonaceae Knotweed

• Coccoloba uvifera Sea Grape - fruit eaten raw or jellied; wood used
• Fagopyrum Buckwheat
  • F. cymosun wild progenitor of F. esculentum
  • F. esculentum Buckwheat
  • F. tataricum
• Polygonum
  • P. bistorta Bistort - used in herbalism and for tanning
  • P. multiflorum used in Chinese medicine
  • P. odoratum used as a spice in South-East Asia
• Reynoutria japonica Japanese Knotweed, Fleece Flower - toxic, used in Chinese medicine
• Rheum Rhubarbs
  • R. officinalis Chinese Medicinal Rhubarb - inedible, used as a drug
  • R. palmatum Chinese Medicinal Rhubarb - inedible, used as a drug
  • R. rhabarbarum, R. rhaponticum, R. undulatum Rhubarb
  • R. alpinum European Wild Rhubarb - leaves used for wrapping cheeses, rhizomes used as pig food
• Rumex Sorrel - no relation of the West Indian Sorrel used for drinks, Hibiscus sabdariffa; these plants all contain oxalic acid
  • R. acetosa Garden Sorrel, Little Vinegar Plant
  • R. acetosella Sheep's Sorrel
  • R. crispus Yellow Dock - used for psoriasis and constipation
  • R. patientia Herb Patience, Sorrel-Dock
  • R. scutatus Round-leaved Sorrel, Buckler-Leaf Sorrel, French Sorrel
  • R. acetosa Garden Sorrel

Subclass DILLENIFLORAE

Order Capparales

Family Brassicaceae, Cruciferae Cabbage

Note that oilseed rape is in this family, and is a common pollen allergen in the UK.

• Alliaria petiolata Jack-by-the-Hedge, Garlic Mustard - seeds and leaves used for flavouring; other parts used in herbalism
• Armoracia rusticana Horseradish
• Barbarea verna Land Cress, Spring Cress, Belle Isle Cress, Mustard Greens, American Cress, Scurvy Grass, Winter Cress
• Brassica
  • B. alba, B. hirta, Sinapis alba White Mustard, Mustard and Cress
  • B. campestris Field Mustard, Turnip Rape, Turnip Oil Rape, Colza, Indian Rape
  • B. carinata Gomano, Abyssinian Cabbage
  • B. chinensis Pak Choi, Chinese Cabbage, Bok Choy
  • B. cretica an Eastern Mediterranean cabbage
  • B. juncea Brown Mustard, Chinese Leaf
  • B. napus ssp. oleifera Rape, Hungry Gap Kale, Rape Kale, Forage Rape, Oilseed Rape, Canola
  • B. napus var napobrassica Turnip, Neep (Scotland), Swede (England), Rutabaga (US)
  • B. nigra Black Mustard
  • B. oloracea Cabbages
    • convar acephala Marrow-stem Kale, 1000-headed Kale
    • convar botrytis var botrytis Cauliflower and Broccoli
    • convar botrytis var italica Sprouting Broccoli, Calabrese
    • var bullata subvar gemmifera Brussels Sprout
    • var capitata Head Cabbages - alba: white or green, rubra: red
    • var gongylodes Kohlrabi
    • var subauda Savoy Cabbage
  • B. pekinensis Pak Choi, Chinese Cabbage, Bok Choy, Celeri Cabbage, Shu Tsoi
  • B. perviridis Cabbage Mustard
  • B. rapa White Turnip (Scotland), Turnip (England)
  • B. sylvestris Wild Cabbage, Sea Cabbage
• Capsella bursa-pastoris Shepherd's Purse - leaves used in salad, other parts in herbalism
• Cardamine hirsuta Hairy Bitter Cress - leaves used in salad
• Cheiranthus cheiri Wallflower - common ornamental plant
• Cochlearia officinalis Scurvy Grass - very rich source of vitamin C
• Crambe maritima Seakale
• Eruca sativa Rocket, Roquette, Arugala - leaves used in salad, seeds used to make Jamba Oil in India
• Isatis tinctoria Woad
• Lepidium Peppercress
  • Lepidium meyenii Maca - a root crop grown in Peru
  • Lepidium sativum Garden Cress, Mustard and Cress
• Luaria redivia Honesty - common garden and ornamental plant
• Nasturtium officinale Watercress
• Raphanus
  • R. caudatus Rat-Tailed Radish - fruit eaten in Asia
  • R. sativus Radish, Mooli, Daikon
• Sinapis arvensis Charlock
• Sisymbrium officinale Hedge Mustard, Singer's Plant
• Wasabia japonica Wasabi, Japanese Horseradish

Family Capparaceae Capers

• Capparis spinosa Caper - sometimes the buds of the Marigold, Calendula officinalis, are substituted for this
• Crataeva (sp?) Sacred Barna - planted as an ornamental near tombs and sacred places in Asia

Family Moringaceae

• Moringa the timber of these trees is used to make rayon and cellophane
  • M. oleifera Oil of Ben Tree, Horseradish Tree - oil used in cosmetics, perfumes, and clocks and watches
  • M. stenopetala Schelchada, Haleko, Shifferaw, Cabbage Tree - leaves eaten

Family Resedaceae

• Reseda Mignonette - used for honey and in perfumery
  • R. loteola Dyer's Weld
  • R. lutea Wild Mignonette
  • R. odorata Mignonette

Order Dilleniales

Family Dilleniaceae

• Dillenia
  • D. aurea
  • D. indica Chulta, Elephant Apple - fruit eaten in India and South-East Asia; other parts used medicinally

Family Paeonaceae

• Paeonia Peony
  • P. lactiflora Chinese Peony - used in Chinese medicine
  • P. officinalis Peony - flowers eaten as a vegetable in Japan; seeds infused in mead and used as a spice in England; roots used in herbalism; sometimes poisonous
  • P. suffruticosa Moutan, Tree Peony - used in Chinese medicine

Order Ebenales

Family Ebenaceae Ebony

• Diospyros
  • D. discolor Mabolo
  • D. embryopteris Gaub Fruit (I don't know what you do with it or if it's edible)
  • D. ebenaster Black Sapote
  • D. ebenum Ebony - used for timber
  • D. kaki Chinese Persimmon, Japanese Persimmon, Date Plum, Kaki, Sharon Fruit
  • D. lotus Date Plum
  • D. virginiana True Persimmon, American Persimmon

Family Sapotaceae

• Achras
  • A. sapota, Sapota achras Sapodilla, Sapota, Santo Domingo Apricot, Marmalade Plum, Naseberry, Nispero, Dilly, Chiku - used both for the fruit and for the latex, which is the source of chicle for chewing gum
  • A. zapota Sapote, Mamey Sapote
• Butyrospermum parkii Shea Butternut
• Chrysophyllum cainito Star Apple
• Lucuma
  • L. bifera Lucuma
  • L. cainito Abiu
  • L. mammosa
  • L. nitida
  • L. nervosa Egg Fruit, Canistel, Ti-es
  • L. mammosa Marmalade Fruit, Mammee Sapota
  • L. obovata Lucuma, Lucmo
  • L. salicifolia
  • L. viride Green Sapote
• Madhuca butyracea Butter Fruit, Illipe Nut - formerly used for making margarine; seed cake used as a worm killer on lawns
• Mimusops
  • M. elata Cow Tree - milky latex from the fruit is used like milk in coffee in Brazil
  • M. elengi Spanish Cherry, Tanjong Tree - fruit eaten; bark used for flavouring 'arrack' in Malaya; other parts used in medicine in Indonesia; bark used for dyeing in West Africa
• Pouteria I think this is yet another name for some of the same plants in this mind-bogglingly confusing family
  • P. campechiana Canistel
  • P. sapote, Calocarpum mammosum Sapote, Marmalade Plum, Mammee Sapote
• Sideroxylon australe Australian Native Plum, Bush Apple, Black Apple

Family Styracaceae

• Styrax
  • S. benzoin Benzoin, Gum Benjamin - gum used in perfumery and incense, in cosmetics, and medicinally; often allergenic
  • S. officinale Storax - used in incense

Order Ericales

Family Ericaceae Heather

• Arbutus Cane Apple, Strawberry Tree
  • A. unedo Strawberry Tree, Manzanita - used for making the Portuguese spirit 'madrongho'
  • A. andrachne Greek Strawberry Tree
• Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, A. officinalis, Uva-Ursi uva-ursi, U. procumbens Bear Berry, Bear Grape, Burren Myrtle (Ireland) Cranberry - fruit edible, but the main use is the leaves in herbal medicine
• Calluna vulgaris Scots Heather - used for flavouring 'Fraoch Heather Ale' in Scotland
• Gaultheria
  • G. humifusa - berries eaten dried
  • G. procumbens Checkerberry, Teaberry, Wintergreen - fruit eaten; leaves used as tea; the oil, mostly methyl salicylate, is used pharmaceutically and for flavouring chewing gum and toothpaste; a different plant Betula lenta produces the bulk of the oil of wintergreen in commercial use
  • G. shallon - berries eaten dried
• Gaylussacia Huckleberries - not to be confused with the Garden Huckleberry or European Black Nightshade, Solanum nigrum
  • G. baccata Black Huckleberry
  • G. brachycera Box Huckleberry
  • G. dumosa Dwarf Huckleberry, Bush Whortleberry
  • G. frondosa Dangleberry, Blue Dangle
  • G. ursina Bear Huckleberry, Buckberry
• Ledum groenlandicum, L. palustre Labrador Tea, Wild Rosemary, (Germany) Porst, Sumpfporst - leaves steeped (not boiled, that releases toxins) to make tea or beer; used in Native American herbal medicine; formerly used as a bittering agent to make German 'Grutbier'; possibly one of the drugs used by the Berserkers
• Rhododendron ponticum Pontic Azalea, (Turkish) Azalia - intoxicant, narcotic (sometimes in the form of 'deli bal', 'mad honey') and used as a treatment for rheumatism
• Vaccinium species
  • V. angustifolium Lowbush Blueberry, Blueberry, Huckleberry
  • V. corymbosum Highbush Blueberry, Swamp Blueberry, Tall Blueberry
  • V. macrocarpon American Cranberry
  • V. microcarpum a small European wild cranberry
  • V. myrtilis Bilberry
  • V. oxycoccus Cranberry
  • V. uliginosum Northern Bilberry
  • V. vitis-idaea Cowberry, Alpine Cranberry, Red Bilberry, Whortleberry

Order Lecythidales

Family Lecythidaceae

• Barringtonia Vutu - from the western Pacific and south-east Asia
  • Edible Vutu, (Solomon Islands) Borolong, Sloko (Fiji) Vutu kana
  • B. asiatica Fish Poison Vutu, (Polynesia) Utu or Hutu, (Fiji) Vutu, (Amboyna, Java) Huttum, (Guam) Putting, (Philippines) Botong - deadly poisonous, used as fish poison
• Bertholletia excelsa Brazil Nut - unusually high in selenium
• Grias cauliflora Anchovy Pear - from the West Indies; don't know what you do with it
• Lecythis
  • L. minor seeds toxic (causing nausea and temporary loss of hair and nails) due to the selenium analogue of the amino acid cystathionine
  • L. ollaria same toxicity as L. minor
  • L. zabucajo Sapucaya Nut - edible

Order Malvales

Family Bombacaceae

• Adansonia digitata Baobab - fruit eaten in East Africa
• Ochroma lagopus Balsa Wood - used for timber
• Durio zibethinus Durian (strange health warning number 1: 'Don't try to rest under Durians! Why? (a) Falling fruit will kill a man; (b) the smell makes sleep impossible; (c) tigers and civet cats are avid for the fruit.' Food Is Where You Find It)
• Eriodendron anfractuosum, Ceiba pentandra Kapok - used for heat insulation; seed oil eaten in the Philippines; whole plant used medicinally in West Africa

Family Malvaceae Mallow

• Abelmoschus moschatus Muskseed, Ambrette - seeds used to flavour coffee and Middle Eastern foods; whole plant used in herbalism
• Althaea officinalis Althea, Marshmallow - 'marshmallow' sweets don't contain this any more, though they were once made from the root
• Azanza garckeana Aureta - East African fruit
• Gossypium Cotton - many species are grown, usually for textiles, but the seed is used for an edible oil which contains variable amounts of a mildly toxic substance (gossypol) which has been used as a male contraceptive, particularly in China
• Hibiscus Hibiscus
  • H. abelmoschus Musk-Mallow - seeds used as a herbal sedative and applied externally for itchy skin
  • H. bancroftianus used like H. abelmoschus
  • H. cannabinus Kenaf - grown for fibre in Asia
  • H. esculentus Okra, Bhindi, Gumbo, Ochro, Gombo, Bamie, Bindi, Lady's Fingers, Bamya, Quingombos
  • H. palustrus Marsh Hibiscus (wild US species) used in herbalism
  • H. rosa-sinensis Rose of China, Chinese Hibiscus, Choublac - used as a tea, a red food colouring, in herbalism, and as a shoe black
  • H. sabdariffa Roselle, (West Indies) Sorrel, Jamaican Sorrel - used for the West Indian 'sorrel' drink; no relation of European Sorrel, Rumex; the stems are used for fibre
  • H. sagittifolius used in herbalism
  • H. surattensis used in herbalism
  • H. tiliaceus Cuban Bast, Mahoe, Corkwood - used in herbalism

Family Sterculiaceae

• Theobroma cacao Cacao, Cocoa, Chocolate - contains the caffeine-like stimulant alkaloid theobromine
• Cola nitida Kola Nut, Kola - contains lots of caffeine

Family Tiliaceae Lime

• Corchorus Jute
  • C. capsularis Jute - grown for fibre
  • C. olitorius Melokhia, Jew's Mallow, Molokhia, Tossa Jute, Mulokhia, Melokhiya - young plants used as a vegetable in Middle Eastern cooking, old plants used for fibre
• Elaeocarpus dentatus Hinau - fruit formerly eaten by the New Zealand Maori
• Grewia tenax Kotjata - East African fruit
• Tilia Lime, Linden - leaves and flowers used for teas; no relation of the fruit Limes, Citrus
  • T. americana Basswood - tea may be toxic in large doses
  • T. cordata Small-Leaved Lime - old flowers may be toxic
  • T. x europaea Common Lime - hybrid of T. cordata and T. platyphyllos
  • T. platyphyllos Large-Leaved Lime

Order Primulales

Family Primulaceae

• Primula may cause allergic contact dermatitis
  • P. veris Cowslip, Paigle - flowers eaten, made into wine or jam, may be candied, can be made into sedative tea; roots used for respiratory complaints
  • P. vulgaris Primrose, Spring Primula - flowers and roots used like Cowslip, leaves may be used in salad

Order Salicales

Family Salicaceae

• Salix Willows
  • S. alba White Willow - source of salicin, the precursor of aspirin
  • S. coerulea Cricket Bat Willow - for timber

Order Theales

Family Actinidiaceae Kiwifruit

• Actinidia arguta Chinese Gooseberry
• Actinidia chinensis Yang Tao, Chinese Gooseberry, Kiwifruit
• Actinidia kolomikta Chinese Gooseberry

Family Camelliaceae, Theaceae Camellias

• Camellia sinensis, Thea sinensis Tea

Family Caryocaraceae

• Caryocar a genus of South American oilseed trees

Family Clusiaceae, Guttiferae, Hypericaceae

• Calophyllum inophyllum Tamanu, Alexandrian Laurel - seeds eaten; the source of Pinnay, Domba or Dilo Oil, used for rheumatism
• Cratoxylum
  • C. cochinchinense Kemutong - used in herbal medicine
  • C. formosum Pink Mempat - used medicinally in Indonesia
• Garcinia Mangosteens
  • G. atroviridis (Indonesia) Asam Gelugur, (UK) Tamarind Slices - unrelated to true Tamarind, Tamarindus indica
  • G. cowa Cowa-Mangosteen - used in preserves
  • G. dulcis a mangosteen from the Moluccas
  • G. globulosa, G. nigrolineata Asam Kandis - often used in Indonesia instead of Tamarind
  • G. hanburyii Gambodia, Gamboge, Gummigutta, Gutta Gamba, Tom Rong - used in herbalism
  • G. indica Cocum, Conca, Cokum - used for vinegar and 'cocum oil'
  • G. kola Male Kola - used in herbalism
  • G. livingstonei Imbe
  • G. mangostana Mangosteen
  • G. morella Indian Gamboge - used in herbalism
  • G. xanthochymus, Xanthochymus pictorius Cochin-goraka - also the source of gamboge, used as a dye and as a purgative
• Hypericum
  • H. calycinum Rose of Sharon - used in herbalism
  • H. perforatum St John's Wort - used for tea, formerly as a flavouring for liqueurs; used in herbal medicine, contains a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, hence a mild antidepressant but dangerous in combination with drugs affecting the nervous system
• Mammea americana Mamey, Mammee Apple, Santo Domingo Apricot
• Mesua ferrea Ironwood - used in Asian herbalism

Family Dipterocarpaceae

• Dryobalanops camphora Borneo Camphor - used in mothballs

Order Violales

Family Bixaceae

• Bixa orellano Annatto, Achiote, Lipstick Tree, Urucú - seeds used as food colouring and for artificial suntan pills; may provoke allergic reactions

Family Caricaceae Papaya

• Carica Papaya
  • C. candamarcensis Mountain Papaya
  • C. papaya, Papaya carica Pawpaw, Papaya, Papaw, Tree Melon - unrelated to the American Pawpaw, Asimina triloba
  • C. quercifolia Papaya
• Guernsey Babaco

Family Cucurbitaceae Marrows

• Benincasa hispida Wax Gourd, Ash Gourd
• Bryonia
  • B. alba Bryony - berries deadly poisonous, roots used as a laxative
  • B. dioica English Mandrake - distinct from American Mandrake, Podophyllum peltatum and from Mandrake, Mandragora officinarum - used in herbal medicine
• Citrullus lanatus Water Melon
• Cucumeropsis Egusi Melon - seeds eaten in West Africa
  • C. edulis
  • C. manii
• Cucumis Melons
  • C. anguria West Indian Gherkin - sometimes pickled as 'gherkin' in the US
  • C. melo Melon, Cantaloupe, Charentais Melon, Ogen, Musk Melon, Winter Melon, Honeydew, Rock Melon, Netted Melon, Nutmeg Melon, Casaba Melon - seeds may also be eaten
  • C. sativus Cucumber, Gherkin, Wally
• Cucurbita Squashes
  • C. foetidissima Buffalo Gourd - used as an oilseed plant in dry climates
  • C. maxima Pumpkin, Winter Squash, Turban Squash, Mammoth Squash, Boston Marrow, Orange Marrow, Hubbard Squash, Banana Squash, Bishop's Head, Turk's Cap, Warty Squash, Pebbled Squash
  • C. mixta Pumpkin, Winter Squash, Tennessee Sweet Potato, Cushaw Pumpkin, Japanese Pie
  • C. moschata Pumpkin, Winter Squash, Crook-neck, Golden Cushaw, Buttersquash, Large Cheese Pumpkin
  • C. pepo Vegetable Marrow, Courgette, Zucchini, Caserta, Spaghetti Marrow, Pumpkin, Fordhook, Summer Crooknecks and Straightnecks, Custard Marrows, Table Queen Squash
• Lagenaria siceraria Bottle Gourd - gourds eaten or used as containers for food and drink
• Luffa Loofah, (Indonesia) Oyong - both species eaten when young
  • L. acutangula
  • L. cylindrica the species used for bath loofahs
• Momordica
  • M. balsamina Balsam Apple, Balsamina - dunno what you do with it
  • M. charantia Karela, Balsam Pear, Bitter Melon, Bitter Gourd, Maiden's Blush, Balsam Cucumber, (Indonesia) Peria, Pare, Periok, (West Indies) Carailla, Caraillee, Bitter Cucumber, Foo Gwa
• Sechium edule Chayote, Christophene, Choko, Madeira Marrow, (Indonesian) Waluh Jipang, Gambas, Labu Siam - fruit eaten everywhere, shoots used like asparagus in Indonesia
• Trichosanthes
  • T. cucumerina Snake Gourd
  • T. kirilowii Chinese Cucumber - used medicinally

Family Flacourtiaceae

• Aberia, Doryalis
  • A. caffra Kei Apple, Umkokolo
  • A. gardneri Ketembilla, Ceylon Gooseberry
• Flacourtia ramountchi Governor's Plum, Ramontchi
• Pangium edule (Indonesian) Kluwek, (Java) Pakem, (West Java) Pacung, (Sumatra) Pacuyang - seeds used for cooking oil and in many Indonesian foods, but poisonous (contain cyanide) unless thoroughly boiled or roasted
• Taraktogenos Kurzii source of Chaulmoogra Oil, I forget what you do with it

Family Passifloraceae Passion Fruit

• Adenia ellenbeckii Kaguta - East African leaf vegetable
• Dalbergia latifolia (Indian) Rosewood - wood used for carving
• Passiflora Passion Fruit
  • P. edulis Passionfruit
  • P. edulis var flavicarpa Golden Passionfruit, Hawaiian Passionfruit
  • P. incarnata May Pops, May Apple - fruit edible, flowers smoked or used as a tea as a sedative or hallucinogen (contains harmala alkaloids)
  • P. laurifolia Jamaican Honeysuckle, Water Lemon, Bell Apple - from Brazil and the West Indies
  • P. ligularis, P. loweii Sweet Granadilla
  • P. maliformis Hardshelled Passionflower, Sweet Calabash
  • P. mollissima, Tasconia mollissima Tumbo, Curuba, Banana Passionfruit
  • P. pinnatistipula Tintin
  • P. quadrangularis Granadilla
  • P. quadrangularis macrocarpa Giant Granadilla

Family Turneraceae

• Turnera diffusa Damiana - smoked or drunk as a tea as a sedative, euphoriant or aphrodisiac

Family Violaceae Violets

• Viola Violets - leaves and flowers both eaten in small amounts
  • V. odorata Sweet Violet
  • V. papilionacea Blue Violet
  • V. tricolor Heartsease, Wild Pansy - used in herbalism

Subclass HAMAMELIFLORAE

Order Eucommiales

Family Eucommiaceae

• Eucommia ulmoides Gutta-Percha - gum used as an adhesive and in Chinese medicine

Order Fagales

Family Betulaceae Birches

• Betula
  • B. lenta Beech, Cherry Birch - source of 'oil of wintergreen' (actually oil of birch)
  • B. pendula Silver Birch - sap used for syrup, wine and vinegar; tar used for dressing Russian leather; leaves used medicinally and for dyes; oil used for medicated soaps

Family Corylaceae Hazel

• Corylus
  • C. avellana Hazel Nut
  • C. colurna Turkish Hazel
  • C. maxima Filbert, Kentish Cob, Cobnut

Family Fagaceae Beech

• Castanea sylva, C. sativa Chestnut
• Fagus sylvatica Beech - nuts used for animal food
• Quercus Oak - as well as the uses mentioned below, oak casks are used for maturing port, sherry and whisky and oak smoke is used for smoking fish
  • Q. coccifera Kermes Oak - used for tanning and dyeing
  • Q. ilex Holm Oak - used for tanning and dyeing
  • Q. lanuginosa Hairy Oak - used for growing truffles
  • Q. macrolepis Valonia Oak - used for tanning and dyeing
  • Q. suber Cork Oak

Order Hamamelidales

Family Hamamelidaceae

• Hamamelis virginiana Witch Hazel - used as a herbal astringent
• Liquidambar orientalis Oriental Sweet Gum, Levant Storax - source of 'storax' resin used in perfumery and medicine

Order Juglandales

Family Juglandaceae Walnut

• Carya, Carylus Hickory - wood used for smoking food
  • C. americana Pecan Nut
  • C. illinoensis Pecan Nut
  • C. rostrata Pecan Nut
  • C. sulcata King Nut
• Juglans Walnut
  • J. cinerea Butternut, White Walnut
  • J. nigra Black Walnut
  • J. regia Walnut
• Pterocarya
  • P. fraxiniflora Caucasian Wing Nut
  • P. rhoifolia Japanese Wing Nut
  • P. stenoptera Chinese Wing Nut

Order Myricales

Family Myricaceae

• Myrica Wax Myrtles - berries used for seasoning meat and producing a scented wax used in candles, shaving soap and perfume
  • M. californica California Wax Myrtle
  • M. cerifera Wax Myrtle, Candleberry

Order Urticales

Family Cannabaceae Cannabis

• Cannabis Hemp, Cannabis, Marijuana, Ganja, Hashish, Reefer - The two species are not easily distinguishable but C. indica is most used for fibre and C. sativa as an intoxicant; seeds formerly used for food; ingredient of most birdseed
  • C. sativa
  • C. indica
• Humulus lupulus Hops - shoots and leaves can be eaten as a vegetable; mainly used in beer; may cause skin allergies

Family Moracae Mulberry

• Artocarpus Breadfruit - the fruit of all species is eaten; timber used like mahogany
  • A. incisus, A. communis Breadfruit - timber used in Hawaii for surfboards
  • A. heterophyllus Nangka, Jackfruit
  • A. integer Cempedak, Champedak, Indian Breadfruit
  • A. integrifolia Jackfruit, Jak Fruit
  • A. odoratissima Marang, Johore Jackfruit
• Brosimum alicastrum Ramon, Breadnut - a drought-tolerant Central American plant used for bread-like flour and for animal food
• Broussonetia Paper Mulberries
  • B. papyrifera used for fibre
• Chlorophora
  • C. excelsa Iroko - an African timber
  • C. tinctoria Fustic - dunno what you do with it
• Ficus Fig - about 2000 species known
  • F. bengalensis Banyan, Bo Tree, Peepul - shade tree; fruit (laxative) only eaten as famine food
  • F. benjamina Weeping Fig - leaves often produce allergic rhinitis and asthma
  • F. carica Fig
  • F. elastica a tropical tree once used for making rubber
  • F. prolixa Dye Fig - fruit edible as a famine food
• Maclura pomifera Osage Orange - inedible, used for dyeing
• Morus Mulberry
  • M. alba White Mulberry - used for feeding silkworms
  • M. mesozygia Inch'orre - East African fruit
  • M. nigra Black Mulberry, Sycamine Tree - fruit eaten fresh or dried in southern Europe and the Middle East, made into jam in Western Europe; uncooked shoots and unripe fruit contain hallucinogens, as with White Mulberry
  • M. rubra Red Mulberry, American Mulberry
• Treculia africana African Breadfruit - dunno what you do with this

Family Ulmaceae Elms

• Ulmus Elm
  • U. procera English Elm - sap, bark and leaves used in herbal medicine
  • U. rubra Slippery Elm - bark used medicinally
• Celtis
  • C. australis Lotus Berry, Caucasian Sugar Berry
  • C. occidentalis Hackberry, Sugar Berry

Family Urticaceae Nettles

Dead Nettle, Lamium album is unrelated to any of these.

• Parietaria
  • P. judaica - common pollen allergen in the Mediterranean
  • P. officinalis Pellitory-of-the-Wall - used as a herbal diuretic, common hayfever allergen; distinct from Pellitory, Anacylus pyrethrum
• Urtica
  • U. doica Stinging Nettle
  • U. pillulifera Roman Nettle
  • U. urens Small Nettle

Subclass MAGNOLIIFLORAE

Order Aristolochiales

Family Aristolochaceae

• Aristolochia debilis Chinese Fairy Vine used in herbalism
• Asarum
  • A. canadense Canadian Snake Root, Wild Ginger - used in herbal medicine
  • A. europaeum Hazlewort - used medicinally

Order Illiciales

Sometimes merged with the Magnoliales.

Family Illiciaceae

• Illicium - may be a separate family, Illiciaceae
  • I. anisatum Japanese Star Anise - poisonous; used externally in Oriental medicine; bark burned as incense at Buddhist temples
  • I. verum Star Anise - unrelated to true Anise, but contains the same essential oil, anethol

Family Schisandraceae

• Schisandra chinensis Schisandra, Magnolia Vine, Fruit of Five Flavours - used in Chinese medicine

Order Laurales

Family Lauraceae Laurel

• Beilschmeidia tawa Tawa - fruit formerly eaten by the Maori of New Zealand after treatment to remove the resin
• Cinnamomum Cinnamon
  • C. cassia Cassia - unrelated to the Cassia species used as laxatives
  • C. camphora Camphor - used for scenting wooden chests, for respiratory ailments and injected as a heart/lung stimulant in emergency medicine
  • C. zeylanicum Cinnamon, (Indonesia) Kayu Manis
• Laurus nobilis Laurel, Sweet Bay
• Lindera
  • L. benzoin Spice Bush, Benjamin Bush - fruit used like Allspice; leaves and bark made into a tea; bark and twigs made into aromatic oil
  • L. strychnifolia used in Chinese medicine
• Nectandra rodioei Greenheart - a timber from Guyana
• Persea
  • P. americana Avocado
  • P. nanmu Nan-Mu - a Chinese wood
• Sassafras
  • S. albidum Sassafras, Ague Tree, Cinnamon Wood, Saxifrax, Kuntze - used as a tea and in herbal medicine
  • S. variifolium Filé - used for flavouring Creole gumbos
• Umbellularia californica California Bay - leaves used as a flavouring; seeds eaten by Native Americans; leaf tea used for headache

Family Monimiaceae

• Doryphora Sassafras Australian Sassafras - dunno what you do with it
• Peumus boldus Boldo - used in herbalism, in perfumery and to scent soaps

Order Magnoliales

Family Annonaceae Custard Apple

• Annona
  • A. cherimolia Cherimoya
  • A. diversifolia Ilama
  • A. muricata Soursop, Guanabana, Corossolier, Guanavana, Toge-Banreisi, Durian Benggala, Nangka Blanda, Nangka Londa
  • A. palustris Alligator Apple, Monkey Apple - fruit said to be narcotic
  • A. purpurea Soncoya
  • A. reticulata Bullock's Heart, Custard Apple, Netted Custard Apple
  • A. squamosa Custard Apple, Sugar Apple, Sweet Sop, Sharifa, Scaly Custard Apple
  • Atemoya - a hybrid of A. cherimolia and A. squamosa
• Asimina triloba Pawpaw - a North American fruit unrelated to the Pawpaw or Papaya Carica papaya
• Cananga odorata Ylang-Ylang, Perfume Tree - used in perfumes, sometime together with Spanish Broom, Spartium junceum
• Monodora West African spice and oil trees
  • M. myristica Calabash Nutmeg, Jamaica Nutmeg - no relation of true Nutmeg, Myristica fragrans
  • M. tenuifolia Orchid Flower Tree

Family Canellaceae, Winteranaceae

• Canella
  • C. alba Canella Bark - the cinnamon-like spice Canel, I think
  • C. winteriana used as an aromatic, medicinally and in initiation into the Santeria cult

Family Magnoliaceae Magnolias

• Liriodendron tulipifera Tulip Tree - used for timber
• Magnolia officinalis Magnolia - flowers and bark used in herbal medicine
• Michelia
  • M. champaca Champaca, Champak - flowers used for 'champac' perfume, leaves fed to silkworms, other parts used in Indian medicine
  • M. figo used to make a banana-scented hair oil

Family Myristaceae Nutmeg

• Myristica
  • M. fragrans Nutmeg; mace (also used a spice) is a different part of the plant containing most of the same active ingredients; toxic to the liver in large doses; sometimes used as a recreational drug by the desperate
  • M. malabarica Bombay Mace - dunno what this is used for
  • M. sebifera Ocuba Wax - dunno what this is used for
• Virola A genus of South American psychedelics
  • V. calophylla
  • V. calophylloidea
  • V. elongata
  • V. peruviana
  • V. theiodora the most commonly used of the family

Order Nympheales

Family Nymphaeaceae Water Lilies

• Nelumbo nucifera Lotus Root (may be in family Nelumbonaceae)
• Nymphaea
  • N. lotus rhizomes and seeds eaten, mainly in Africa
  • N. stellata rhizomes and seeds used as a famine food in India

Order Papaverales

Family Fumariaceae Fumitory

• Fumaria officinalis Fumitory, Earth Smoke - used in herbalism; fatal in large doses

Family Papaveraceae Poppies

• Argemone mexicana Chicalote, Prickly Poppy - used like opium but less potent, contains different but related alkaloids
• Chelidonium majus Celandine, Swallow Wort - used in herbalism for liver and gallbladder disease; toxic
• Eschscholtzia californica California Poppy - smoked as a mild euphoriant
• Papaver Poppy
  • P. somniferum Opium Poppy
    • P. somniferum ssp hortense grown for seeds
    • P. somniferum ssp somniferum grown for opium
  • P. rhoeas Common Corn Poppy - grown for seeds, petals also used medicinally
• Sanguinaria canadensis Blood Root, Indian Paint - rhizome used as a red body paint and insect repellent by Native Americans

Order Piperales

Family Piperaceae Pepper

• Piper
  • P. betle Betel Pepper, Paan - leaf chewed as a stimulant in India, often along with Betel Nut, Areca catechu
  • P. chaba a South-East Asian spice
  • P. cubeba Cubeb - used as a spice and in herbal medicine
  • P. futokadsura Japanese Pepper - used to treat pain
  • P. methysticum Kava-Kava - roots used as a recreational sedative drug in the Pacific
  • P. nigrum Black Pepper - white pepper is produced from the same berries as black pepper by fermentation and milling
  • P. officinarum Piperlongum, Long Pepper
  • P. sarnentosum a South-East Asian spice

Family Saururaceae

• Houttuynia cordata used as a spice in South-East Asia

Order Ranunculales

Family Berberidaceae

• Berberis Barberry
  • B. angulosa
  • B. aristata
  • B. asiatica
  • B. buxifolia
  • B. darwinii
  • B. haematocarpa
  • B. vulgaris Barberry, Pipperidge Bush
• Mahonia aquifolium Oregon Grape
• Podophyllum Podophyllum - used as a laxative and for treating warts
  • P. peltatum American Mandrake, May Apple - no relation to Mandrake Mandragora officinarum or English Mandrake Bryonia dioica
  • P. emodi a variety from Northern India

Family Lardizabalaceae

• Akebia Akebi - all fruit edible
  • A. lobata, A. trifoliata
  • A. quinata Chocolate Vine - stem used with fruit in Chinese medicine
  • A. x pentaphyllata A cross between A. lobata and A. quinata
• Lardizabala biternata fruit eaten in Chile
• Stauntonia hexaphylla fruit eaten in Japan

Family Menispermaceae

• Tinospora spices from South-East Asia
  • T. crispa
  • T. glabra

Family Ranunculaceae Buttercup

• Aconitum Aconite, Monkshood, Wolfsbane - a poisonous plant used as the source of the drug aconitine
  • A. cammarum
  • A. fischeri
  • A. napellus True Aconite
• Aquilegia vulgaris Columbine - very toxic, sometimes used medicinally
• Cimicifuga
  • C. foetida used in Chinese medicine
  • C. racemosa Black Snakeroot, Black Cohosh - used medicinally
• Clematis once eaten but toxic and causes contact inflammation
  • C. chinensis used in Chinese medicine
  • C. vitalba Traveller's Joy, Old Man's Beard - used in Bach Flower Remedies and homoeopathy
• Consolida ambigua Larkspur - used in herbalism; flowers used for ink; toxic
• Hydrastis canadensis Golden Seal - used as a herbal medicine
• Nigella
  • N. damascena Love-in-a-Mist - seeds edible
  • N. sativa Black Cumin, Adjowan, Adjwain, Fennel Flower, Nutmeg Flower, Roman Coriander
• Pulsatilla vulgaris Pasqueflower, Windflower - poisonous when fresh, dried parts used in herbalism

Subclass ROSIFLORAE

Order Apiales

Family Apiaceae, Umbelliferae Umbellifers, Carrot

• Anethum graveolens Dill, (Indonesia) Adas Cina, Adas Manis
• Angelica
  • A. anomala Bar Gee - used in herbalism
  • A. archangelica Angelica, Garden Angelica, European Angelica
  • A. atropurpurea American Angelica, Masterwort
  • A. sylvestris Wild Angelica, Goutweed, European Wild Angelica
• Anthriscus cerefolium Chervil
• Apium graveolens Celery, Celeriac, Smallage
  • var rapaceum Celeriac
  • var dulce Celery
• Arracacia xanthorrhiza, A. esculenta Apio, Arracate, Peruvian Parsnip - a tropical highland root crop
• Bupleurum falcatum, B. chinense Sickle Hare's Ear, Pei Ch'ai - used in Chinese medicine
• Carum carvi Caraway
• Centella asiatica Centella, Gotu Kola - used in Chinese medicine
• Chaerophyllum bulbosum Turnip-Rooted Chervil
• Conium maculatum Hemlock - very poisonous, used as the source of the little-used drug coniine
• Conopodium majus Pignut
• Coriandrum sativum Coriander, Cilantro, Chinese Parsley
• Crithmum maritimum Samphire, Rock Samphire. Unrelated to Marsh Samphire, Salicornia.
• Cuminum cyminum Cumin, Kummel (Black Cumin can mean varieties of this, but more often Nigella sativa)
• Daucus carota Carrot
• Eryngium Eryngo
  • E. foetidum grown near doorways as a snake repellent
  • E. maritimum Eryngo - roots formerly used as a vegetable throughout Europe
• Ferula
  • F. assa-foetida used to make asafoetida in Iran and Afghanistan
  • F. communis African Ammoniacum, Feshook - used in herbal medicine
  • F. foetida Asafoetida, Hing
  • F. galbaniflua Galbanum - used in herbal medicine
  • F. hermonic Zalou Root - used in herbal medicine
  • F. suaveolens Sambul Root - used in herbal medicine
  • F. sumbul Sumbul - used in herbal medicine
• Foeniculum vulgare, F. dulce Fennel, (Indonesia) Adas, (Malaya) Adas Pedas
• Heracleum mantegazzianum, H. austriacum, H. sphondylium Giant Hogweed, Cow Parsnip - common blistering contact allergen in the UK; contains psoralens; roots used in Native American medicine
• Levisticum Lovage
  • L.officinale, Ligusticum officinale Lovage
  • L. porteri Osha Root - used in herbal medicine
  • Ligusticum scoticum Scot's Lovage
• Myrrhis odorata Sweet Cicely
• Osmorrhiza occidentalis Sweet Anise - used as an aphrodisiac
• Pastinaca sativa Parsnip
• Perilla frutescens Perilla, Shiso, Beefsteak Plant - used as an oilseed and for making pickles (like umeboshi plum) in Asia; added to sushi in Japan
• Petroselinum Parsley
  • P. crispum Parsley
  • P. crispum v. tuberosum Hamburg Parsley, Thell, Turnip-Rooted Parsley
• Peucedanum possibly toxic; used in Chinese medicine
  • P. decursivum Chinese aphrodisiac and tonic
  • P. japonica Fang-Kuei
• Pimpinella anisum Anise, Aniseed; Star Anise, Illicium verum, is unrelated
• Sanicula europaea Sanicle - leaves used in herbalism
• Sium
  • S. latifolium Water Parsnip - used in herbalism
  • S. sisarum Skirret, Chervin - roots and seeds both eaten
• Smyrnium olusatrum Black Lovage, Alexanders

Family Araliaceae

• Eleutherococcus senticosus Siberian Ginseng - herbal tonic
• Hedera helix Common Ivy - poisonous; used in herbalism, as a hair dye and to restore black colour in silk
• Panax
  • P. ginseng Ginseng - used as a tonic
  • P. quinquefolium American Ginseng - used as a tonic
• Tetrapanax papyrifera a tree grown in Taiwan whose bark is one source of 'rice paper'

Order Celastrales

Family Aquifoliaceae Holly

• Ilex
  • I. aquifolium English Holly - leaf tea used to treat colds and coughs
  • I. guayusa Guayusa - Amazonian stimulant
  • I. paraguayensis, I. paraguariensis Maté, Yerba Maté - stimulant tea from South America, contains caffeine
  • I. vomitoria Black Drink Plant - stimulant and emetic used ritually before battle by Native Americans

Family Celastraceae

• Catha edulis Khat - a stimulant drug, similar to amphetamine and caffeine, widely used in East Africa and by East Africans abroad

Family Corynocarpaceae

• Corynocarpus laevigatus Karaka - New Zealand fruit containing a deadly convulsant poison producing irreversible spastic paralysis; formerly eaten by the Maori after prolonged soaking and cooking to remove the toxin; the standard Maori treatment for poisoning was to bury the victim up to their neck with arms and legs held straight, so that when the acute phase passed they could at least spend the rest of their life lying flat rather than weirdly twisted; I'd rather not think about the experimentation involved in finding how to make this stuff edible

Family Pandanaceae

• Freycinetia banksii Kiekie - fruit formerly eaten by the Maori
• Pandanus Pandanus
  • P. odoratissimus Fragrant Screwpine, Umbrella Tree, Kewra - used to make a scented essential oil used in Indian sweet cooking and perfumery
  • P. odorus Daun Pandan - leaves eaten in Indonesian cooking
  • P. tectorius Pandanus, (Polynesia) Hala, Fara, Ara, (Malaita) Kalahu, (Bougainville) Pota, Darashi, Sararang, (Fiji) Balawa, (Java) Pandan - fruit used for starch

Order Cornales

Family Cornaceae Dogwood

• Cornus
  • C. kousa An ornamental (but edible) cornelian
  • C. mas Cornelian Cherry, Cornel
  • C. officinalis An ornamental (but edible) cornelian

Order Euphorbiales

Family Buxaceae Box

• Buxus sempervirens Box, Boxwood - used for hedges and making woodwind instruments; all parts of the plant deadly poisonous; once used in herbalism and veterinary medicine; bark used in perfumery

Family Euphorbiaceae

• Aleurites moluccana Candlenut, (Indonesia) Kemiri, Buah Keras - nuts eaten (toxic unless cooked); nut oil used for artists' paints, in wood preservative, batik and soap; leaves used medicinally
• Antidesma dallachryanum Woolmi, Currant Tree
• Baccaurea
  • B. dulcis Rambeh, Rambei - fruit eaten
  • B. ramiflora - fruit from highland South-East Asia
• Cnidoscolus Chaya - a tropical leaf vegetable
  • C. aconitifolius
  • C. chaymansa
• Croton Crotons - often used as ornamental plants; note that they can be severe contact allergens; oil from some species used as a violent purgative
  • C. morifolius Palillo - Peruvian herb, used medicinally in Mexico
  • C. tiglium poisonous; used as a fish poison in south-east Asia and the Pacific
• Emblica officinalis Emblic Myrobalan
• Hevea brasiliensis Rubber - latex allergy is common and can be very serious
• Jatropha Physic Nuts - poisonous shrubs used widely for medicinal purposes in the tropics and as dyes, lamp fuel and rat poison
  • J. curcas Purging Nut, Physic Nut
  • J. gossypifolia
• Mallotus philippensis Kamala - dunno what you do with it
• Manihot
  • M. glaziovii Ceara - a source of rubber
  • M. palmata, Sweet Braz Arrowroot, Sweet Tapioca Meal - dunno what this is used for
  • M. utilissima, M. esculenta Cassava, Manioc, Yuca, Brazilian Arrowroot - distinct from Yucca, Yucca; used to make tapioca and the Caribbean flavouring 'cassareep'
• Phyllanthus
  • P. acidus, P. distichus, Averrhoa acida, Cicca disticha, Cicca acida Otaheite Gooseberry, Indian Gooseberry, Grosela, Cerme
  • P. emblica Emblic, Ambal - used for dyeing and tanning
  • P. piscatorum used as a fish poison
• Ricinodendron rautanenii Mongongo Nut - staple food of the Kalahari Bushmen
• Ricinus communis Castor Oil Plant - beans deadly poisonous, but their oil is used as an industrial lubricant and as a laxative

Family Simmondsaceae

• Simmondsia chinensis Jojoba, Goat Nut - used for industrial oil

Order Fabales

The three families in this order are sometimes regarded as subfamilies of the single family Leguminosae. The order as a whole is related to the Sapindales.

Family Caesalpinaceae

Subfamily Caesalpineae

• Haematoxylum, Haematoxylon
  • H. brasiletto Peachwood - used for dye
  • H. campechianum Logwood - a red dye, particularly for wool; used for timber; flowers used for honey

Subfamily Cassieae

• Cassia -these are unrelated to the cinnamon-like spice Cassia, Cinnamomum cassia
  • C. acutifolia Senna - used as a laxative
  • C. angustifolia another species of senna
  • C. fistula Indian Laburnum, Purging Cassia, Golden Shower - seeds are strongly laxative, other parts used medicinally
  • C. sturtii an Australian desert plant used as animal fodder in Israel
• Ceratonia siliqua Carob, Locust Bean, St John's Bread, Algaroba Bean

Subfamily Cercideae

• Bauhinia esculenta a South African vine which produces both beans and tubers

Subfamily Detarieae

• Hymenaea courbaril West Indian Locust Tree, Courbaril - seeds eaten; seed pulp fermented to make the alcoholic drink 'atole'; resin used to make 'Brazil Copal', used in varnishes, patent leather and church incense; mahogany-like wood used
• Tamarindus indica, T. officinalis Tamarind, (Malaya, Indonesia) Asam, Asem Jawa - distinct from 'Tamarind Slices' which are Garcinia atroviridis

Family Leguminosae Peas, Beans, Legumes

Subfamily Abreae

• Abrus precatorius Abrus, Indian Liquorice - leaves contain glycyrrhizin, like Liquorice; seeds used for necklaces and formerly as weights to weigh gold, but are one of the deadliest poisons in the whole plant kingdom due to the alkaloid abrin; used by many cultures in black magic death spells

Subfamily Aeschynomeneae

• Arachis hypogea Peanut, Groundnut, Monkey Nut
• Stylosanthes - used for animal fodder

Subfamily Cicereae

• Cicer arietinum Chick Pea, Garbanzo

Subfamily Coronilleae

• Ornithopus sativus Serradella - used as animal food in southern Europe

Subfamily Crotalarieae

• Aspalathus linearis Rooibosch, Red Bush - a South African tea, low in tannin and free of caffeine
• Crotalaria juncea Sunn Hemp - used for rope and sacking

Subfamily Dalbergiae

This subfamily contains gum and phenolics.

• Dalbergia species include American Rosewood
  • D. latifolia Indian Rosewood
• Inocarpus edulis Pacific Chestnut, (Fiji) Ivi
• Pterocarpus marsupium Bastard Teak - an Indian timber

Subfamily Desmodieae

Members of this family contain canavanine.

• Brya - used for timber
• Desmodium styracifolium Coin Leaf Clover - used in herbalism

Subfamily Dipteryxeae

• Dipteryx
  • D. odorata Tonka Bean - used in pot-pourri, perfumery and herbalism
  • D. oleifera similar to Tonka Bean - also used for scenting tobacco and snuff
• Entada
  • E. scandens Nicker Bean, Cacoon, Mackay or Seal Bean - eaten in the Pacific and south-east Asia
  • E. pursaetha - seeds used for hair washing in Asia

Subfamily Galegeae

Members of this family usually contain canavanine.

• Astragalus Milk Vetches
  • A. gummifer Tragacanth, Gum Tragacanth, Gum Dragon - used as a binder in pills and lozenges, for stiffening calicoes, and in early sugar paste recipes - may produce severe allergic reactions
  • A. membranaceus Milk Vetch - used with Atractylodes macrocephala and Ledebouriella seseloides for allergies and frequent colds
• Galega officinalis Goat's Rue, French Lilac - leaf juice used to curdle milk for cheese; flower tea used to stimulate milk production in humans and animals; other medicinal uses
• Glycirrhiza Liquorice
  • G. glabra Liquorice, Licorice - note that heavy use can cause potassium deficiency
  • G. uralensis Gum Juo

Subfamily Genisteae

• Cytisus Brooms - poisonous; sometimes used in herbalism; contain hallucinogenic and toxic alkaloids, cytisine and sparteine; sometimes smoked as recreational drugs
  • C. canariensis Genista - used as a decorative plant
  • C. scoparius Broom, Scotch Broom
• Lupinus Lupin - used as animal feed and green manure, some varieties poisonous
  • L. albus White Lupin - flour or boiled beans eaten as human food in the Mediterranean; roasted seeds eaten in Greece
  • L. angustifolius Yellow Lupin
  • L. luteus Blue Lupin, Annual Lupin
  • L. micranthus Bitter Blue Lupin
  • L. mutabilis Pearl Lupin, Tarwi, Chocho
  • L. nootkatensis Wild Lupin
  • L. polyphyllus Yellow-Flowered Garden Lupin - ornamental only
• Spartium junceum Spanish Broom, Weaver's Broom - used for fibre; poisonous, similar to Cytisus; flower oil sometimes used with Ylang-Ylang, Cananga odorata

Subfamily Hedysareae

• Hedysarum used for animal fodder
• Onobrychis sativa Sainfoin - used as animal fodder, notably for racehorses

Subfamily Indigoferae

• Cyamopsis psoraloides Cluster Bean - eaten in North India and Pakistan
• Indigofera Indigo - leaves and stems used as a blue dye and in Chinese medicine; chronic industrial exposure causes lung disease
  • I. arrecta
  • I. sumatrana
  • I. tinctoria Indigo, Nil-awari
• Phylloxylon - used for timber

Subfamily Lateae

This subfamily contains canavanine.

• Anthyllis vulneraria Kidney Vetch - used as animal fodder
• Lotus
  • L. corniculatus Common Bird's Foot Trefoil - used for animal food, as a yellow dye, and in herbalism
  • L. tetragonolobus Asparagus Pea - whole plant used for animal food, peas used as a vegetable. Distinct from the South-East Asian Goa Bean or Asparagus Pea, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus
  • L. uliginosus Greater Bird's Foot Trefoil - used for animal food

Subfamily Millettiae

• Derris Derris - insecticide and fish poison, active ingredient rotenone
• Lonchocarpus - used as a fish poison; contains rotenone
• Tephrosia vogelii Fish Poison Plant - kills Bilharzia snails in lakes

Subfamily Phaseolae

• Cajanus cajan Pigeon Pea
• Canavalia Jack Bean, Sword Bean, Horse Bean
  • C. ensiformis
  • C. gladiata
• Dolichos
  • Dolichos biflorus Madras Gram Horse Gram
  • Dolichos lablab Bonavist Bean, Hyacinth Bean - grown in Ethiopia - same as Lablab niger?
• Erythrina flabelliformes Colorines - extremely toxic, has been used as a hallucinogen in Central America
• Glycine max Soya Bean, Soy Bean
• Macrotyloma
  • M. geocarpum, Kerstingiella geocarpa Hausa Groundnut - grown in West Africa
  • M. uniflorum Horse Gram
• Lablab niger Lablab, Lubia - bean commonly eaten in Egypt
• Pachyrrhizus
  • P. erosus, P. angulatus Yam Bean, Bengkuang, Besusu - tubers eaten; other parts of the plant are poisonous
  • P. tuberosus Jicama, Ajipa, Mexican Yam Bean - tubers eaten either raw or cooked; sometimes substituted for Water Chestnut in the US
• Phaseolus Beans
  • P. acutifolius Tepary Bean, Bamboo Shoot Bean - may be used for sprouting
  • P. angularis Adzuki Bean, Aduki Bean
  • P. aureus Green Gram, Mung - may be eaten as beansprouts
  • P. coccineus, P. multiflorus Scarlet Runner Bean, Runner Bean
  • P. lunatus, P. limensis, P. inamoenus Lima Bean, Butter Bean, Madagascar Bean
  • P. mungo Black Gram, Urid, Woolly Pyrol
  • P. trilobus Pille-pesara - eaten in India
  • P. vulgaris Common Bean, French Bean, Kidney Bean, Haricot Bean, Snap Bean, Frijoles, Flageolet Bean, Borlotti Bean, Berlotti Bean, Canellini, Mexican Black Bean, Michelet, Runner Bean, String Bean, Chili Bean, Pea Bean, Salad Bean, (France) Mangetout, (USA) Field Bean
• Physostigma venenosum Calabar Bean - West African ordeal poison; source of the drug physostigmine, used for nervous system disorders and as an antidote to nerve gas
• Psophocarpus tetragonolobus Goa Bean, Asparagus Pea, Winged Bean, (Indonesia) Kecipir, (Malaya) Kacang Belimbing - a South-Asian vegetable distinct from the European Asparagus Pea, Lotus tetragonolobus
• Vigna - the subclassifications of these are confused and disputed
  • V. mungo, Phaseolus mungo Urid, Black Gram
  • V. radiata Mung Bean, Green Gram
  • V. sesquipedalis Yard-Long Bean, Bodi Bean, Snake Bean, Chinese Bean
  • V. sinensis Yard-Long Bean
  • V. umbellata Sweet Bean, Rice Bean
  • V. unguiculata Cowpea, Black-Eye Bean, Yard-Long Bean
  • V. subterranea, Voandzia subterranea Bambara Groundnut

Subfamily Sophoreae

• Baphia nitida Camwood - a West African timber
• Castanospermum australe Moreton Bay Chestnut - seeds eaten by Australian Aborigines after preparation; toxic when fresh; contains castanospermine, used as an anti-HIV drug
• Myroxylon balsam, M. toluifera Balsam Tree, Balsam of Tolu - resin used as a flavouring and medicinally
• Sophora
  • S. japonica Pagoda Tree, Chinese Scholar Tree - used in Chinese medicine and as a yellow fabric dye
  • S. secundiflora Mescal Bean - very poisonous, used as a hallucinogen in North America in former times, frequently fatal, contains the alkaloids cytisine and sparteine

Subfamily Thermopsideae

• Baptisia australis False Indigo - used in herbal medicine

Subfamily Trifoleae

• Medicago Alfalfa
  • M. arabica Spotted Medick - used as animal fodder, mainly in the US
  • M. coerulea Wild Mediterranean Alfalfa - ancestor of cultivated alfalfa
  • M. lupulina Black Medick, Yellow Trefoil, Nonsuch - used as animal fodder and green manure
  • M. polymorpha Hairy Medick, Toothed Medick - used as animal fodder, green manure or cover crop
  • M. sativa Lucerne, Alfalfa - mainly used as animal fodder, sometimes eaten as a "health food". Contains a substance which causes auto-immune disease in humans if eaten in large amounts
  • M. sculetta Snail Clover - used like alfalfa
• Melilotus Melilot - used as animal fodder, for perfuming linen cupboards, for teas and for flavouring Swiss cheese
  • M. alba White Melilot, Bokhara Clover
  • M. altissima Tall Melilot - wild species
  • M. indica Small Melilot, Small Flowered Medick
  • M. officinalis Yellow Melilot, Common Melilot, Ribbed Melilot
• Trifolium Clover - used as a green manure, as cattle forage and for feeding honey bees
  • T. hybridum Alsike Clover
  • T. incarnatum Crimson Clover
  • T. pratense Red Clover
  • T. repens White Clover
  • T. subterraneum Subterranean Clover
• Trigonella Fenugreek
  • T. foenum-graecum Fenugreek, Methi
  • T. ornithopodiodes Fenugreek (English wild variety)

Subfamily Trifoleae

• Lathyrus Sweet Peas - decorative plants, all poisonous
  • L. sativus Grass Pea, Chickling Pea - used as a food by the poor in India and East Africa; long-term consumption leads to lathyrism, irreversible damage to the nervous system caused by a toxin, beta-N-oxalyl-L-alpha beta-diaminopropionic acid
• Lens culinaris Lentil
• Pisum sativum Pea
  • P. sativum var sativum, P.hortense Garden Pea, Sugar Pea, Mangetout, Sugar Snap Pea
  • P. sativum var arvense, P.arvense Field Pea, Dun Pea, Maple Pea, Grey Pea, Partridge Pea
• Vicia Vetches - there are many wild species as well as the cultivated ones
  • V. faba Broad Bean, Field Bean, Ful Medames, Horse Bean, Tick Bean - used both for human and livestock food and as a green manure; toxic to people with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, a common genetic disorder, because they can't metabolize vicine or convicine, two chemicals found in these beans
  • V. sativa Common Vetch - used for animal fodder
  • V. villosa a Mediterranean vetch used as animal fodder

Family Mimosaceae

Subfamily Acaciae

• Acacia Acacias - boiled young leaves, shoots and seeds all edible
  • A. albida drought-resistant African tree whose leaves are used as animal fodder
  • A. baileyana source of mimosa oil for perfumery
  • A. catechu extract chewed with betel nut, Areca catechu and used for sore throats
  • A. cornigera Cockspur - used in herbal medicine
  • A. dealbata Silver Wattle
  • A. farnesiana source of mimosa oil for perfumery
  • A. verek, A. senegal Gum Arabic, Kordofan Gum - used as a food emulsifier and a lickable glue for postage stamps and envelopes

Subfamily Ingeae

• Calliandra anomala Cabeza de Angel - dried sap used as a sedative by the Aztecs
• Inga feuillei Pacae, Guamos - an Andean fruit

Subfamily Mimoseae

• Adenanthera
  • A. pavonina Bead Tree, Red Sandalwood - seeds eaten roasted and used as ornaments, wood used for dye, leaves used in India for rheumatism
  • A. peregrina, Piptadenia peregrina Yopo, Parica - used as a hallucinogenic snuff in South America
• Prosopis
  • P. juliflora Mesquit Tree - dunno what you do with it
  • P. tamarugo Tamarugo - a salt-tolerant Chilean desert plant used for animal feed

Subfamily Parkiae

• Parkia
  • P. biglobosa African variety - seeds eaten raw or roasted to make 'Sudan Coffee'
  • P. roxburghii Duaga
  • P. speciosa (Indonesia) Peté, Petai
• Xylia dolabriformis Ironwood - an Indian timber

Order Geraniales

Family Balsaminaceae

• Impatiens balsamina
  • I. balsamina Garden Balsam - used in india as a skin pigment (like henna), elsewhere as a wound dressing
  • I. burtonii used as a wound dressing
  • I. irvingii used as a wound dressing
  • I. noli-tangere Touch-Me-Not - used as a wound dressing
  • I. platypetala used as a wound dressing

Family Geraniaceae

• Geranium
  • G. macrorrhizum Bigroot Geranium - leaves and root used in pot-pourri; regarded as an aphrodisiac in Bulgaria
  • G. maculatum American Cranesbill - used in herbalism
  • G. pratense Meadow Cranesbill - eaten in salads
  • G. robertianum Herb Robert - used in herbalism

Family Oxalidaceae Oxalis

• Averrhoa
  • A. carambola Star Fruit, Five Corner, Carambola, Belimbing Manis
  • A. bilimbi Blimbing, Billings, Cucumber Tree, Belimbing Wuluh - fruit often used for jam
• Oxalis
  • O. acetosella Wood Sorrel - used in salads; dangerous in large quantities because of its oxalic acid content
  • O. tuberosa (Ecuador, Peru) Oca, (New Zealand) Yam - an Andean tuber

Family Tropaeolaceae

• Tropaeolum
  • T. majus Nasturtium - flowers and leaves used in salads
  • T. tuberosum Mashua, Anu, Isaño, Ysaño, Tuberous Nasturtium - an Andean tuber

Family Zygophyllaceae Caltrop

• Balanites aegyptica Hangalta - fruits eaten, leaves used as a vegetable and as animal food in East Africa
• Guiacum officinale Guiacum Wood, Lignum Vitae - American tropical timber; used medicinally
• Peganum harmala Syrian Rue - spice, hallucinogenic in large quantities

Order Linales

Family Erythroxylaceae Coca

• Erythroxylon coca Coca - source of cocaine

Family Linaceae Flax

• Linus usitatissimus Flax, Linseed - seeds eaten in baking, oil used for food and industrial processes, leaves used for fibre, seeds used for animal food

Order Myrtales

Family Combretaceae

• Terminalia
  • T. arjuna used for timber and as a source of a heart drug
  • T. bellerica, T. bellerica Belleric or Belliric Myrobalan - used as an astringent and for tanning in India
  • T. brownii Weybata lia - tree whose leaves are used for animal food in East Africa
  • T. catappa, T. cateppa Indian Almond, (India) Deshi Badam, (Samoa) Talie, (Fiji) Tavola, (Solomons) Saori
  • T. chebula Myrobalan - seeds are an appetite stimulant, fruit used for tanning
  • T. ferdinandiana Billy Goat Plum - Australian fruit with the highest level of vitamin C of any natural food
  • T. kernbachii, T. okari nut eaten in New Guinea

Family Lythraceae Loosestrife

• Heimia salicifolia Sinicuichi - a Central and South American psychedelic
• Lawsonia
  • L. alba Egyptian Privet, Henna, Jamaica Mignonette, Mehndi, Mendee, Smooth Lawsonia - used in herbalism
  • L. inerma Henna - used to colour hair and skin and as a fabric dye; flower oil, 'Mehndi' used as a perfume in India and Africa and in Arab religious festivals
    • var alba Mignonette Tree
• Lythrum
  • L. salicaria Purple Loosestrife - leaves eaten as a famine vegetable or fermented into alcohol; used cosmetically to brighten blonde hair and improve skin; assorted medicinal uses
  • L. salicaria similar uses to Purple Loosestrife; planted in pastures to prevent cows and mares from aborting

Family Myrtaceae Myrtles

• Campomanesia guabiroba, Abbevillia fenzliana Guabiroba, Pará Guava
• Eucalyptus - oils are extracted from these for medicinal use, as industrial oils or in the production of chemicals like menthol and thymol
  • E. amygdalina
  • E. australiana
  • E. citriodora used in perfumery
  • E. dives
  • E. globulus
  • E. piperata
  • E. polybracta
  • E. smithii
• Eugenia mostly Brazilian fruits
  • E. aquea Water Jambu, Rose Water Jambu, Jambu Air, Jambu Air Mawar
  • E. aromatica, Syzygium aromaticum Clove - same as E. caryophyllata?
  • E. caryophyllata Clove
  • E. cauliflora Jaboticaba - popular fruit in Rio de Janeiro
  • E. dombeyi Grumichana
  • E. floribunda Guava Berry
  • E. jambos Jambos, Rose Apple - a Pacific fruit; used in sweets and perfumes
  • E. jambolana Jambolana Fruit
  • E. javanica Makopa
  • E. klozschiana Pero do Campo
  • E. lancilimba Onami
  • E. lushnathiana Pitomba
  • E. malaccensis Mountain Apple, Kavika, Red Jambu - an Indonesian and Pacific fruit
  • E. manaquile Mankil
  • E. polyantha Salam - leaves (Daun Salam) used as a flavouring in Indonesian cooking
  • E. polycephaloides Maigang
  • E. tomentosa Cabelluda
  • E. ovalha Uvalha
• Feijoa sellowiana Feijoa, Brazilian Guava, Pineapple Guava
• Melaleuca Tea Trees - no relation of the Polynesian Ti Trees, Cordyline
  • M. alternifolia commonest source of Tea Tree Oil
  • M. bracteata Black Tea Tree
  • M. cajuputi Cajuput, Paper Bark Tree; source of Cajuput Oil
  • M. leucadendron another source of Cajuput Oil
  • M. viridiflora source of Niaouli OIl
• Myrtus Myrtles
  • M. communis Myrtle - fruit made into jam and in making drinks, other parts used in perfumery and tanning
  • M. ugni Ugni, Chilean Guava - usually made into jam
• Pimenta dioica, P. officinalis Allspice, Pimento
• Psidium Guava
  • P. cattleianum Purple Guava, Strawberry Guava, Cherry Guava
    • P. cattleianum var lucidum Yellow Guava
  • P. guajava Guava
    • P. guajava var aromaticum Guava
    • P. guajava var pomiferum Guava
    • P. guajava var pyriferum Guava Pear
  • P. laurifolium, P. friedrichsthalium Cos Guava, Costa Rica Guava
  • P. littorale similar to the Yellow Guava

Family Onagraceae Willowherb

• Fuchsia Fuchsia - mostly grown for flowers but fruit are edible
  • F. corymbiflora
  • F. excorticata Konini, Kotukutuku - eaten by the Maori
  • F. magellanica
• Oenanthera, Oenothera Evening Primrose
  • O. biennis Evening Primrose, Fever Plant, King's Cureall, Night Willowherb, Scabish, Scurvish, Tree Primrose - seed oil used for its omega-3 fatty acid content; dangerous to epileptics
• Trapa
  • T. bicornis Ling Kok
  • T. bispinosa Singhara Nut
  • T. natans, T. quadrispinosa Caltrops, Water Chestnut, Jesuit's Nut - nuts eaten roasted in Europe; distinct from the Chinese Water Chestnut, Eleocharis dulcis

Family Punicaceae Pomegranate

• Punica granatum Pomegranate - eaten as raw fruit and used for making 'grenadine' syrup

Order Polygalales

Family Krameriaceae

• Krameria triandra Rhatany - used as an astringent tooth and gum cleanser in Peru

Family Malpighiaceae

• Banisteriopsis Yage, Ayahuasca - used as the major ingredient in South American hallucinogenic snuffs, sometimes in combination with Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana
  • B. caapi
  • B. inebrians
• Bunchosia armeniaca Ciruela del Fraile - an Andean fruit
• Diplopterys cabrerana used in in South American traditional hallucinogens - contains dimethyltryptamine
• Malpighia
  • M. glabra Barbados Cherry, Brazilian Cherry, Native Cherry, Surinam Cherry, Pitanga
  • M. punicifolia Acerola
• Tetrapterys methystica used as a psychedelic in South America

Family Polygaleae

• Polygala Senega - used as a snakebite remedy and expectorant
  • P. alba Southern Senega
  • P. senega Western Senega
  • P. senega var latifolia Northern Senega
  • P. sibirica Chodat, Hsiao-Ts'ao - used to increase mental powers in Taoist medicine

Order Proteales

Family Elaeagnaceae Oleaster

• Elaeagnus Wild Olive, Russian Olive, Trebizond Date - fruit eaten fresh or dried
  • E. angustifolia Oleaster, Wild Olive
  • E. commutata Silver Berry
  • E. multiflora, E. edulis Goumi
  • E. umbellata Autumn Olive
• Hippophae rhamnoides Sea Buckthorn, Sallow Thorn - fruit eaten, high in vitamin C; not to be confused with unrelated medicinal or poisonous Rhamnus species also known as Buckthorn
• Shepherdia
  • S. argentea Buffalo Berry, Rabbit Berry, Nebraska Currant
  • S. canadensis

Family Proteaceae

• Macadamia terrifolia Macadamia Nut

Order Rhamnales

Family Rhamnaceae

• Hovenia dulcis Japanese Raisin Tree
• Rhamnus Buckthorn - a genus of poisonous plants unrelated to the edible Sea Buckthorn, Hippophae rhamnoides
  • R. frangula Alder Buckthorn, Alder Dogwood, Arrowwood, Black Alder, European Alder, Black Dogwood, Persian Berries
  • R. cathartica Common Buckthorn, Purging Buckthorn, Waythorn
  • R. prinoides leaves and wood used to flavour alcoholic beverages in East Africa
  • R. purshiana Cascara Sagrada, California Buckthorn, Sacred Bark - a strong purgative
• Zizyphus Jujube
  • Z. jujuba, Z. vulgaris Jujube, Chinese Date, Ber, Bor
  • Z. lotus Zizouf, Jujube Lotus - an Algerian species
  • Z. mauritiana Indian Jujube, Chinese Apple
  • Z. mucronata (Sandawe) Ts'indi Mak'o - an East African fruit
  • Z. spina-christi a Palestinian jujube believed to have been what Christ's crown of thorns was made of

Family Vitaceae Vines

• Vitis Grape - note that most commercial grape vines are American grape rootstocks with European plants on top of them; vine leaves eaten as well as fruit
  • V. aestivalis
  • V. labrusca American Grape, Fox Grape, Slip-Skin Grape
  • V. rotundifolia Muscadine Grape
  • V. rupestris Bush Grape
  • V. vinifera European Grape, Wine Grape

Order Rosales

Family Crassulaceae

• Rhodiola rosea, Sedum rosea Rose-root, Midsummer Men - leaves eaten in the Arctic, roots used for scent and in herbal medicine
• Sedum
  • S. acre Stonecrop, Wall Pepper - dried leaves used as a seasoning
  • S. album leaves used as a famine food
  • S. dendroideum used to treat haemorrhoids and chilblains
  • S. reflexum leaves used as a famine food
  • S. telephium used as a herbal astringent
• Sempervivum tectorum Houseleek, Hen and Chickens - leaves edible in salad or made into tea for soothing mouth ailments

Family Grossulariaceae Currant, Saxifrage

• Ribes
  • R. divaricatum Worcesterberry
  • R. hirtellus Currant Gooseberry
  • R. nigrum Blackcurrant, Cassis
  • R. sativum, R. rubrum, R. syvestre, R. vulgare Red Currant, White Currant
  • R. uva-crispa, R. grossularia Gooseberry

Family Rosaceae Roses

• Agrimonia
  • A. eupatoria Agrimony - used as a scent and in herbalism
  • A. pilosa used in Chinese medicine for cancer
• Alchemilla
  • A. alpina similar to A. mollis
  • A. arvensis Parsley Piert, Parsley Breakstone - herbal diuretic
  • A. mollis Ladies' Mantle - eaten in salad, used to make tea, and used in herbalism for menstrual complaints and vaginal itching
  • A. vulgaris Ladies' Mantle - used in herbalism for menstrual complaints
• Amelanchier June Berries - mainly used as ornamental plants but all edible
  • A. alnifolia Western Shad Bush, Saskatoon Berry - fruit important to Native Americans and used in making pemmican; roots used like tobacco
  • A. asiatica
  • A. canadensis Shad Bush, Service Berry
  • A. florida, A. oxyodon similar to A. alnifolia
  • A. grandiflora hybrid of A. canadensis and A. laevis
  • A. laevis
  • A. oblongifolia Swamp Sugar Pear
  • A. ovalis, A. vulgaris June Berry, Snowy Mespilus
  • A. spicata
  • A. stolonifera
• Brayera anthelminthica Cusso - dunno what you do with this
• Chaenomeles Japanese Quince
  • C. cathayensis Chinese Quince
  • C. japonica Maule's Quince, Japonica
  • C. lagenaria Japanese Quince
  • C. sinensis a Chinese quince
• Chrysobalanus icaco Coco-Plum, Icaque, Hicaco, Jicaco
• Crataegus Manzanilla
  • C. azorolus Azarole, Mediterranean Medlar
  • C. mexicana Tojocote
  • C. stipulosa Tojocote, Huagra-manzana
• Cydonia oblonga, C. vulgaris Quince
• Eriobotrya japonica, Photinia japonica Loquat, Japanese Medlar - sometimes confused with the Medlar, Mespilus germanica
• Fragaria Strawberries
  • F. x ananassa Garden Strawberry - a cross between F. chiloensis and F. virginiana
  • F. chiloensis a wild strawberry from the Pacific coast of the Americas
  • F. moschata Hautbois Strawberry
  • F. vesca Wild Strawberry, Alpine Strawberry
  • F. virginiana Little Scarlet - a wild American strawberry
• Geum urbanum Avens, Colewort, Herb Bennet - leaves and root used as a tea and as a herbal remedy for digestive disorders
• Malus Apples
  • M. baccata Siberian Crab Apple
  • M. punica, M. domestica, M. communis, Pyrus malus, M. sylvestris ssp. domestica Apple
  • M. sylvestris Crab Apple
• Mespilus germanica Medlar - sometimes confused with the Loquat, Eriobotrya japonica
• Potentilla
  • P. anserina Silverweed, Prince's Feathers - roots formerly used as a vegetable, other parts used as a herbal anti-inflammatory
  • P. tormentilla, P. erecta Tormentil - used as a herbal astringent
  • P. reptans used in anti-wrinkle creams
• Poterium sanguisorba, Sanguisorba minor Salad Burnet, Lesser Burnet
• Prunus Plums - note that Umeboshi Plums are pickled using Shiso, Perilla frutescens; also note that the Acerola Cherry (sometimes used in vitamin pills), Malpighia punicifolia is unrelated to the true cherry
  • P. alleghaniensis American Sloe
  • P. americana American Red Plum, Goose Plum, August Plum, Hog Plum, Yellow Plum
  • P. angustifolia Chickasaw Plum
  • P. armeniaca Apricot
  • P. avium Gean, Sweet Cherry, Wild Cherry, Mazzard
  • P. cerasifera, P. pissardi Myrobalan Plum, Cherry Plum
  • P. cerasus, P. acida Morello Cherry
  • P. communis Almond
    • var amara Bitter Almond
    • var dulcis Sweet Almond
  • P. damascena Damson
  • P. domestica Garden Plum, European Plum
  • P. institia Bullace, Greengage
  • P. italica Gage
  • P. maritima Beach Plum
  • P. orthosepala Texan Plum
  • P. padus Bird Cherry, Hag Berry
  • P. persica, Amygdalus persica, Persica vulgaris Peach
  • P. persica var nectarina Nectarine
  • P. salicina, P. triflora Japanese Plum
  • P. salicofolia Capulin - a tropical plum
  • P. serotina Capulí - an Andean plum
  • P. simonii Apricot Plum
  • P. spinosa Sloe, Blackthorn
  • P. subcordata Oregon Plum
  • P. virginiana Wild Cherry, Black Cherry, WIld Celandine, Choke Cherry
• Pyrus Pear
  • P. calleryana a tropical pear
  • P. communis Pear
  • P. koehnei a south Chinese evergreen pear
  • P. pyrifolia, P. serotina, P. sinensis Chinese Pear, Asian Pear
  • P. salvifolia a central European pear
• Rosa Rose - petals used for jams, scents and flavouring, fruit (hips) used for jams and juice
  • R. canina Dog Rose - usual species used for fruit
  • R. centifolia - used for rose oil
  • R. damascena - used for rose oil
  • R. gallica medicinalis Provence Rose - used for rose oil
  • R. rugosa Japanese Rose, Ramanas Rose
  • R. villosa Apple Rose
• Rubus Berries - note that the species designations here are not very meaningful as there are many hybrids, including boysenberry
  • R. alleghaniensis Blackberry
  • R. caesius Dewberry
  • R. chamaemorus Cloudberry
  • R. ellipticus Yellow Raspberry
  • R. fructicosus Blackberry, Bramble
  • R. glaucus Mora de Castilla
  • R. idaeus Raspberry, Hindberry, Wild Raspberry
  • R. illicebrosus Strawberry-Raspberry - eaten cooked, originally from East Asia
  • R. laciniatus Cut-leaved Blackberry, Parsley-Leaved Blackberry
  • R. occidentalis American Raspberry
  • R. parviflora Thimbleberry
  • R. phoenicolasius Wineberry
  • R. procerus Himalayan Blackberry
  • R. schlechtendahlii Blackberry
  • R. spectabilis Salmonberry
  • R. strigosus Raspberry
  • R. ulmifolius Evergreen Thornless Blackberry
  • R. x loganobaccus Loganberry
• Sorbus Mountain Ash
  • S. aria Whitebeam
  • S. aucuparia Rowan, Mountain Ash - used for making jam and alcohol
  • S. cashmiriana a Kashmir rowan
  • S. commixta a Japanese rowan
  • S. domestica True Service Tree - used for home wine making
  • S. torminalis Wild Service Tree, Chequer Tree - not often eaten
• Spiraea ulmaria Meadowsweet - used for herbal beers, for flavouring wine and mead, and in herbalism as a tonic and diuretic

Order Santalales

Family Santalaceae Sandalwood

• Fusanus spicatus Australian Sandalwood
• Santalum album Sandalwood, East Indian Sandalwood

Family Simaroubaceae

• Picraena excelsa Quassia - wood used for worms and intestinal disorders and as an insect repellent

Family Viscaceae

• Viscum album Mistletoe - poisonous; used in magic ritual and in herbal medicine

Order Sapindales

This order is related to the Fabales.

Family Aceraceae

• Acer Maple - sap used for sugar, wood used for furniture and musical instruments
  • A. nigrum Black Maple - used like Sugar Maple
  • A. saccharum Sugar Maple

Family Anacardiaceae Cashew

Almost all plants of this family produce saps which may be violently irritant. The family includes the Malayan Rengas trees and the American Poison Ivy. Cross-reactions among members of this family are common.

• Anacardium occidentale Cashew, Cashew Nut, Cashew Apple
• Feronia limonia, F. elephantum, Limonium acidissima, Schinus limonia Elephant's Apple - fruit and gum both used
• Harpephyllum caffrum Kaffir Date - dunno what you do with it
• Mangifera indica Mango
• Melanorrhea usitata Burmese lacquer
• Pistacia
  • P. vera Pistachio
  • P. lentiscus Mastic Tree, Lentisc - once used widely as an industrial resin and for dental fillings; used as a flavouring agent for food and drink in Greece and the eastern Mediterranean
• Quebrachia lorentzii Quebracho Colorado Wood - dunno what you do with it
• Rhus many of these species can cause severe skin irritation in susceptible people; the more irritant ones, like Poison Ivy, can lead to sensitization to the others
  • R. copallina Mountain Sumach - fruit used as a drink, root used to treat dysentery
  • R. coriaria Sumac, Sumach
  • R. glabra Smooth Sumach, Vinegar Tree
  • R. natalensis Kabudeida - East African fruit
  • R. ovata Sugar Bush - frequently sought out by honey bees
  • R. radicans Poison Oak
  • R. succedanea Japanese Tallow, Wax Tree - used as a beeswax substitute
  • R. trilobata Squaw Bush - used as a source of plant fibre
  • R. typhina Stag Horn Sumach, Indian Lemonade
  • R. verniciflua Chinese lacquer
  • R. vernix Poison Elder - common allergen
• Schinus mollis Peruvian Mastic, Pepper Tree
• Sclerocarya caffra Marula - fruit eaten in southern Africa
• Spondias Hog Plums - unrelated to true plums
  • S. dulcis, S.cytherea Sweet Apple, Otaheite Apple, Ambarella, Vi Apple, Hog Apple, Venus Apple, (Fiji) Wi, Vi, (Indonesia) Kedondong - leaves and fruit both eaten
  • S. lutea, S. mombin Yellow Mombin, Golden Apple, Jamaica Plum, Hog Plum (also Pomme Cythère, I think)
  • S. pinnata Malayan Mombin
  • S. purpurea Purple Mombin, Spanish Mombin, Red Mombin
  • S. tuberosa Imbu

Family Burseraceae

• Amyris balsifera West Indian Sandalwood
• Boswellia carteria Frankincense - used in perfumery
• Canarium
  • C. commune Solomons Almond, Kanary Nut, Elemi, (Indonesia) Kenari - seeds eaten, resin used in perfumes and cosmetics, seed oil used for cooking, bark used in Indonesia for malaria
  • C. edule - resin used for incense, perfumery and skin disease
• Commiphora Myrrh - used as a flavouring for mouthwashes and toothpaste, for joss sticks and in perfumery
  • C. erythraea var glabrescens Biblical Myrrh
  • C. myrrha the usual Myrrh sold commercially today
• Garuga pinnata Garuga - fruit used in fish curries in India
• Protium resins used for incense
  • P. carana Carana Gum - used in perfumery, I think
  • P. copal the source of Copal Resin, used as an incense
  • P. guianensis
  • P. heptaphyllum
  • P. shipii

Family Hippocastanaceae Horse Chestnut

• Aesculus hippocastanum Horse Chestnut, Conker Tree - nuts toxic untreated; used medicinally; used for fodder in times of famine and after roasting as a coffee substitute

Family Meliaceae

• Azadirachta indica Neem, Margosa - all parts used in South-East Asian herbal medicine
• Carapa
  • C. guianensis Crabwood - seed oil used for lighting and as an insect repellent
  • C. procera used in tropical America to treat yaws, mosquito bites and parasites
• Chloroxylum swietenia Satin Wood - used for timber
• Khaya senegalensis African Cedar - used for timber
• Lansium domesticum Langsat, Lansa, Lanzone, Lanseh, Ayer-Ayer, Duku
• Sandoricum koetjape, S. indicum Santol
• Swietenia mahogani Mahogany - used for timber

Family Rutaceae Rue

• Aegle marmelos, Crataeva marmelos Bengal Quince, Bael Tree
• Barosma Buchu - a herb used as tea and as a diuretic
  • B. betulina Bartling Buchu, Short Buchu, Round Buchu
  • B. crenulata Hook Buchu, Oval Buchu
  • B. serratifolia Wild Buchu, Long Buchu
• Casimiroa edulis Casimiroa, White Sapote - not related to the sapote or sapota
• Citrange - a hybrid of Sweet Orange, Citrus sinensis and Poncirus trifoliata
• Citrus Note that the 'lime" listed here is unrelated to the 'lime' or 'linden' whose leaves or flowers are used for infusions, Tilia; and that the Bergamot Orange is unrelated to the herbs known as Bergamot, Mentha citrata and species of Monarda
  • C. aurantifolia West Indian Lime
  • C. aurantium Seville Orange
  • C. bergamia Bergamot Orange - used in Earl Grey Tea and Eau de Cologne
  • C. grandis Pomelo, Shaddock
  • C. hystrix Papeda, Kaffir Lime, Jeruk Purut - leaves used as a spice in south-east Asian cooking, fruit juice sometimes eaten
  • C. limetta risso Italian Lime, Limette
  • C. limon, C. limonium Lemon
  • C. medica Citron
  • C. mitis Chinese Orange, Panama Orange, Golden Lime, Scarlet Lime, Calamondin Orange
  • C. moscoso Chironja
  • C. paradisi Grapefruit
  • C. reticulata Tangerine, Mandarin, Satsuma, Clementine
  • C. sinensis Sweet Orange
  • Tangelo - hybrid of tangerine and grapefruit
  • Uglifruit - hybrid
• Dictannus albus White Dittany, Burning Bush - leaves used as a tea; flowers and root essences used in liqueurs and perfumes
• Fortunella Kumquats - closely related to Citrus and can be hybridized with it to produce the Limequat, Orangequat, Citrangequat and Lemonquat
  • F. Hindsii Hong Kong Wild Kumquat, Chintou, Golden Bean Kumquat
  • F. japonica, Citrus japonica Round Kumquat, Marumi Kumquat
  • F. margarita Oval Kumquat, Nagami Kumquat
  • F. polyandra Malayan Kumquat, Limau Pagar, Hedge Lime
• Galipia officinalis, Galipea officinalis Angostura - used for flavouring drinks
• Murraya, Chalcas
  • M. koenigii Kari, Karapincha, Curry Leaf
  • M. paniculata Cosmetic Bark, Orange Jasmine
• Pilocarpus Jaborandi - poisonous, used externally to prevent falling hair (dangerous), source of the drug pilocarpine (used for pupil dilation by optometrists)
  • P. jaborandi Jaborandi, Pernambuco Jaborandi
  • P. microphyllus Jaborandi, Maranham Jaborandi, Senna
  • P. pennatifolius Pernambuco Jaborandi
• Poncirus trifoliata Trifoliate Orange - citrus-like fruit
• Ruta Rue - used as an ornamental plant, for perfumery and for flavouring the Italian spirit 'grappa' - may cause severe irritation like that of poison ivy for some people
  • R. chalepensis, R. frangiata Rue
  • R. graveolens Common Rue
• Zanthoxylum, Xanthoxylum
  • Z. alatum Prickly Ash - used as a pepper substitute
  • Z. americanum Prickly Ash, Toothache Tree - bark used as a counter-irritant for pain and itching in Native American medicine
  • Z. clava-herculis Southern Prickly Ash
  • Z. piperitum Japan Pepper, Sansho Pepper, Fagara, Sichuan Pepper, Szechwan Pepper

Family Sapindaceae Lychees

• Blighia sapidia Ackee, Akee - fruit eaten cooked in the West Indies; poisonous unless fully ripe due to hypoglycine
• Euphoria longana, Mephelium longana Longan, Lungan, Dragon's Eye
• Litchi chinensis, Nephelium litchi, Scytalia chinensis Lychee, Litchi, Lichi, (Indonesia) Kelengkeng
• Melicocca bijuga Spanish Lime, Honey Berry, Mammoncillo, Quenette, Gemp, Ginep Tree, Genip, Ginip, (Barbados) Akee
• Nephelium
  • N. lappaceum Rambutan, Ramboutan
  • N. mutabile Pulasan
• Paullinia cupana Guarana - caffeine-containing plant originally used as a recreational drug in South America, now in health food shops everywhere
• Pometia pinnata Dawa
• Sapindus rarak Soap Nut Tree - used in soap and shampoo in India

Class Monocotyledons, Liliidae

Subclass ALISMATIFLORAE

Order Najadales

Family Apogonetonaceae Flowering Rush

• Apogoneton dystachyon Cape Asparagus, Cape Pond Weed, Water Hawthorn - young shoots eaten

Family Zosteraceae

• Zostera marina Eelgrass - grows on the seabed, seeds eaten in Mexico

Subclass ARECIFLORAE

Order Arales

Family Araceae Arums

Note that several different taro species may be fermented to make 'poi' in Polynesia.

• Acorus calamus Sweet Flag, Rat Root - mild euphoriant
• Alocasia macrorrhiza Giant Taro - edible but toxic unless properly cooked; all parts violently irritant when raw
• Amorphophallus
  • A. abyssinicus Saganeida, Bagana, Indian Turnip - tuber from East Africa; poisonous until correctly prepared
  • A. campanulatus Elephant Yam, Poison Pia - tubers used in India, south-east Asia, and the Pacific; requires long cooking to detoxify the cyanide content
• Arisaema Burie - East African tuber
• Colocasia (Polynesia) Taro
  • C. antiquorum (Polynesia) Taro, Eddo
  • C. esculenta (Polynesia) Taro, (West Indies) Dasheen, (West Africa) New Cocoyam - raw plants can be severely irritant; leaves used in the West Indies as the vegetable 'callaloo'
• Cyrtosperma edule Puraka, (Fiji) Viakana, (Tahiti) Maota, (Solomon Islands) Kuraka, (Yap) Pulap, Lack, (Micronesia) Baba - a salt-tolerant form of taro
• Monstera deliciosa Mexican Breadfruit, Swiss Cheese Plant, Ceriman
• Sauromatum nubicum Bansala - tuber from East Africa
• Symplocarpus foetidus Skunk Cabbage - roots used in herbalism
• Xanthostoma Malanga, Yauta, (West Africa) New Cocoyam - a genus of taro-like tubers originally from Central and South America
  • X. sagittifolium (West Indies) Tannia, Indian Kale - tubers eaten, leaves are one source of the green vegetable 'callaloo' (which can be from several unrelated species)

Order Arecales

Family Arecaceae, Palmae Palms

Sago comes from several different species of palm tree.

• Acronemia tips used for palm hearts
• Areca catechu Betel Nut, Pinang - chewed with Paan leaf, Piper betle and lime as a stimulant, mainly in India; the combination may sometimes cause mouth cancers
• Arenga saccharifera Sugar Palm, Gomuti Palm - source of the Indian sugar Jaggery and used for making palm wine
• Astrocaryum Tucuma - oil used in perfumery
  • A. murumuru Murumuru - oil used in perfumery
  • A. tucuma Tucuma - oil used in perfumery
  • A. tucumoides Awarra - used for fibre
  • A. vulgare used for oil and fibre
• Bactris, Guillelma - date-like fruit or seeds eaten
  • B. major Prickly Palm
  • B. minor Tobago Palm
  • B. utilis Peach Nut, Pewa
• Borassus flabellifer Palmyra Palm, Borassus Palm - grown for sugar or fermented for alcohol in India
• Calamus Rattan - used as cane or fibre; growing tips can be eaten
• Caryota urens Fishtail Palm - sap used for making toddy in India
• Cocos nucifera Coconut
• Copernicia source of Carnauba Wax, used in hair cream and mascara
  • C. cerifera also used for making gramophone records
• Elaeis guineensis Oil Palm - source of the common Palm Oil
• Euterpe tips used for palm hearts
• Guilielma tips used for palm hearts
• Hyphaene
  • H. bengalluensis Vegetable Ivory - used as an ivory substitute
  • H. thebaica Gingerbread Palm - fruit (which tastes like gingerbread) eaten around the Nile
• Jessenia polycarpa an oil palm
• Metroxylon Sago Palm - the commonest Melanesian genus
  • M. rumphii from Indonesia
  • M. sagu
• Nipa fruticans Nipa Palm
• Orbigyna a genus of South African oil palms resembling coconuts
• Oreodoxa oleracea Cabbage Palm - used for making sago in the American tropics
• Phoenix Date
  • P. acaulis seeds chewed like betel in Sikkim; used for making sago in India and Burma
  • P. dactylifera Date
  • P. sylvestris Wild Date - grown for sugar in India
• Prestoea tips used for palm hearts
• Roystonea tips used for palm hearts
• Sabal tips used for palm hearts
• Serenoa repens Saw Palmetto - aphrodisiac
• Zalacca edulis, Salacca edulis Salak - an Indonesian fruit

Subclass COMMELINIFLORAE

Order Cyperales

Family Cyperaceae Sedges

• Cyperus
  • C. esculentus Chufa, Sedge Nut, Tiger Nut, Earth Almond - commonly used as a snack in Spain
  • C. longus Sweet Galingale - rhizome used in mediaeval European cooking
  • C. odoratus Priprioca - voodoo perfume
  • C. papyrus Papyrus, Bulrush - used for fibre
  • C. scariosus Surat - a perfume
• Eleocharis dulcis Water Chestnut, used in Chinese cooking - note there is an unrelated European plant also sometimes called Water Chestnut, Trapa natans

Family Poaceae, Gramineae Grasses

Subfamily Arundinoideae

Tribe Arundineae

• Arundo donax, Harundo donax European Cane - stems used for woodwind instrument reeds; roots contain the psychedelic drug DMT
• Phragmites communis, P. australis Reed Grass, Carrizo - most parts eaten by Native Americans; roots used in Chinese medicine

Subfamily Bambusoideae

Tribe Bambuseae

• Bambusa Bamboo
  • B. vulgaris
• Phyllostachys
  • P. nigra Black Bamboo, Hei Chu - shoots eaten; roots used in Chinese medicine
  • P. pubescens an Oriental bamboo; shoots eaten

Tribe Oryzae

• Oryza Rice
  • O. glaberrima an African wetland rice
  • O. sativa Rice. Not the source of 'rice paper' - that comes from Tetrapanax papyrifera or the breadfruit, Artocarpus communis; distinct from Wild Rice, Zizania aquatica
• Zizania
  • Z. aquatica Wild Rice
  • Z. latifolia Gau Sun, 'bamboo' - used as a green vegetable in China and South Asia

Subfamily Chloridoideae

Tribe Eragrostideae

• Eleusine coracana Finger Millet, Ragi (India), Wimi, Bulo (West Africa)
• Eragrostis Love-Grasses; Teff, Tef
  • E. abyssinica
  • E. tef

Subfamily Panicoideae

Tribe Andropogoneae

• Coix lachryma-jobi Job's Tears, Adlay - grown in South-East Asia, used worldwide in herbal medicine
• Cymbopogon Lemon Grasses
  • C. citratus Lemon Grass, (Indonesian) Sereh
  • C. flexuosus Lemon Grass - yields the oil 'Vervaines des Indes'
  • C. martini Lemon Grass - yields Palmarosa Oil
  • C. nardus Lanu Bata Grass - the source of citronella, used as an insect and cat repellent
• Saccharum officinarum Sugar Cane (strange health warning number 2: 'Keep out of sugar cane, especially if incendiaries are falling. Never fire cane yourself. You may be trapped, as parches of wild cane may stretch for miles, e.g. New Guinea' - Food Is Where You Find It
• Sorghum Sorghums
  • S. arundinarium Sudan Grass - used for animal feed in the US
  • S. cernuum White Durra
  • S. bicolor Sorghum, Grain Sorghum, Sugar Sorghum
  • S. dochna Broom Sorghum
  • S. durra Durra
  • S. guineense Guinea Corn
  • S. nervosum Gaoliang
  • S. subglabrescens Milo
• Vetiveria zizanoides Vetiver, Khus-khus - distilled root oil used in perfumery; roots used for fibre
• Zea mays Maize, Popcorn, Sweet Corn, Flint Corn, Dent Maize, Waxy Maize

Tribe Paniceae

• Digitaria African grains mainly used as famine foods
  • D. abyssinica
  • D. decumbens Pangola Grass
  • D. iberua
  • D. exilis Hungry Rice - used in arid regions of West Africa
• Echinochloa
  • E. frumentacea Barnyard Millet, Japanese Millet
  • E. turnerana an Australian desert grain
• Panicum Millet
  • P. milaceum Common Millet
  • P. miliare Little Millet - mainly grown in India
• Pennisetum typhoides Bulrush Millet, Pearl Millet, Spiked Millet
• Setaria
  • S. italica Italian Millet, Foxtail Millet
  • S. viridis Green Bristle Grass - the wild ancestor of Foxtail Millet

Subfamily Pooideae

Gluten (the allergen responsible for coeliac disease and dermatitis hepetiformis) is only found in grains in this subfamily - the most commonly problematic forms are in the tribe Triticeae, but some people react to the Aveneae as well.

Tribe Aveneae

• Avena Oats
  • A. byzantina Red Oat
  • A. sativa Common Oats
  • A. spontaneum an oat grown in Baluchistan
  • A. strigosa Bristle-Pointed Oat

Tribe Agrostideae

• Phalaris - used as animal fodder
  • P. arundinacea Ribbon Grass, Canary Grass, Canary Seed
  • P. tuberosa Toowoomba Canary Grass
• Trisetum Hairgrass - used for forage
  • T. flavescens synthesizes vitamin D from sunlight like animals
  • T. pennsylvanicum Swamp Oat

Tribe Triticeae

• Aegilops
  • A. squarrosa a wild ancestor of wheat, still grown in Baluchistan
  • A. triuncilis grown in Baluchistan
• Elysum not used for food
  • E. arenarius Lyme Grass - used in Japan for rope, mats and paper
  • E. junceus used as a sandbinder in saline soils
  • E. repens, Agropyron repens Couch Grass, Twitch Grass
• Hordeum Barley - used both for food and fermented for beer and whisky; 'pearl' barley is not a distinct type, but the result of a milling process.
  • H. agriocrithon Six-Rowed Wild Barley
  • H. distichum Two-rowed Barley
  • H. polystichum Six-rowed Barley
  • H. spontaneum Two-rowed Wild Barley
• Secale cereale Rye
• Triticale - hybrids of wheat and rye, mainly used as animal feed; if you are intolerant to either wheat or rye you will almost certainly be intolerant to this too.
• Triticum Wheat - note that buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum is totally unrelated to this and cross-reactions between the two never occur. Also note that spelt is a kind of wheat; contrary to the sales pitch of some health food shops, it will almost certainly do nothing to help anyone with a wheat intolerance of any kind.
  • T. aestivum Bread Wheat
    • T. aestivum ssp. compactum a mountain wheat grown in Chitral and Baluchistan
    • T. aestivum ssp.sphaerococcum a mountain wheat grown in Baluchistan
  • T. dicoccum Emmer
  • T. durum Durum Wheat, Macaroni Wheat - used for pasta
  • T. monococcum Einkorn, Small Spelt
  • T. polonicum Polish Wheat
  • T. repens Couchgrass - a weed used in herbal medicine for biliary and urinary disorders
  • T. spelta Spelt, Large Spelt
  • T. turgidum River Wheat

Tribe Poeae

• Festuca Fescue - forage grasses
• Lolium Rye-grasses - forage, weeds and lawn grasses
  • L. multiflorum Italian Rye-Grass
  • L. perenne Perennial Rye-Grass
  • L. temulentum Darnel, Tares - seeds very toxic; a weed common in grain crops, especially in the Mediterranean; formerly used in herbalism
  • L. x boucheanum, L. multiflorum x L. perenne a common meadow grass

Order Juncales

Family Juncaceae

• Juncus effusus Igusa - used for floor matting in Japan

Subclass LILIIFLORAE

Order Liliales

Family Agavaceae

• Agave americana Agave, Century Plant - fermented to make the Mexican drink 'pulque'
• Cordyline (Polynesia) Ti - no relation of the Tea Trees, Melaleuca
  • C. australis Cabbage Tree, Ti-tree, (Maori) Ti - used in New Zealand as a vegetable, stems used to produce sugar
  • C. terminalis Good Luck Plant, (Polynesia) Ti, (Fiji) Nanawe - tubers eaten after prolonged baking, leaves used for wrapping food, fermented to make Okolehau in Hawaii
• Yucca often grown as an ornamental plant; distinct from the root starch crop Yuca, Manihot utilissima
  • Yucca filamentosa Common Yucca, Needle Palm - flowers and fruit edible; leaves used for fibre; roots used in herbal medicine
  • Y. glauca Soapweed - contains saponins used for cosmetics and for ritual cleansing by the Hopi

Family Dioscoraceae Yams

• Dioscorea Yams - some species (containing the chemical diosgenin) are used for making steroids, especially for contraceptive pills
  • D. abyssinica Hidana
  • D. alata Greater Yam, Water Yam, Winged Yam, Ten Months Yam, (incorrectly) White Yam
  • D. bulbifera Potato Yam, Aerial Yam, Bulbil-bearing Yam, Five-Leaf
  • D. cayenensis Yellow Yam, Yellow Guinea Yam, Twelve Months Yam, Cut-and-come-again
  • D. dumetorum Bitter Yam, Cluster Yam - wild forms highly toxic, cultivated forms less so; toxin inactivated by soaking and boiling
  • D. esculenta Lesser Yam, Asiatic Yam, Potato Yam, Chinese Yam, Kawai
  • D. hispida very poisonous, but eaten in Asia after the toxin has been inactivated, or used straight as a poison
  • D. japonica used as food and in Chinese traditional medicine
  • D. opposita Chinese Yam, Cinnamon Vine
  • D. pentaphylla Air Potato - used as food in Indonesia and the Pacific
  • D. piscatorum used as a fish poison in Malaya
  • D. rotundata White Yam, White Guinea Yam, Guinea Yam, Eboe Yam
  • D. trifida Cush-cush Yam, Aja, Mapuey, India Yam - used in the Caribbean
  • D. villosa Wild Yam, Colic Root - used in herbalism; contains large amounts of steroids
• Tamus communis Black Bryony - has a yam-like tuber, toxic but edible after prolonged washing and boiling, formerly used throughout Europe and still eaten by Gypsies

Family Iridaceae Irises

• Crocus Crocuses and Saffron - saffron is often sold adulterated or entirely faked, the species used being Turmeric, Curcuma longa or Safflower, Carthamus tinctorius. A poisonous plant that may be confused with Saffron is the unrelated Meadow Saffron Colchicum autumnale.
  • C. cancellatus A saffron whose corms are used as a vegetable in the Middle East
  • C. nudiflorus Autumn Crocus
  • C. pallasi Greek Wild Saffron
  • C. sativus Saffron
• Iris - all species poisonous
  • I. florentina, I. germanica var florentina Orris Root - used in perfumery
  • I. lactae var chinensis used in herbalism
  • I. pseudacorus Yellow Flag - rhizome used in herbalism
  • I. versicolor Blue Flag - root used in herbalism
• Tigridia
  • T. pavonica bulbs eaten in Mexico since Aztec times
  • T. tenuifolia Tiger Flower - used a a heart drug

Family Liliaceae Lily

• Allium Alliums
  • A. ampeloprasum Leek
    • var ampeloprasum Great-headed Garlic
    • var kurrat Kurrat
    • var porrum Leek
  • A. cepa Onion
    • var aggregatum Shallot, Ever-Ready Onion, Potato Onion, Multiplier Onion
    • var cepa Common Onion, Spring Onion
    • var proliferum Tree Onion, Catawissa Onion
  • A. chinense Rakkyo, Baker's Garlic, Kiu Tsoi, Heung Kiu Tsoi
  • A. fistulosum Welsh Onion
  • A. odorum Japanese Chives
  • A. sativum Garlic
  • A. schoenoprasum Chives
  • A. scorodoprasum Rocambole, Sand Leek
  • A. sibiricum Chinese Chives
  • A. tuberosum, A. odorum Chinese Chives
• Aloe Aloes
  • A. ferox Cape Aloes
  • A. latifolia a South African aloe - used for wound healing and as a skin fungicide
  • A. perryi Socotra Aloe, Zanzibar Aloe - used like Aloe Vera
  • A. saponaria used as a skin fungicide in South Africa
  • A. tenuior used in South Africa for killing tapeworms
  • A. vera Aloe, Aloe Vera, Barbados Aloe, Curacao Aloe - used to aid wound healing
• Alstroemeria Linct, Chuño - a South American genus of tuber food plants
• Asparagus Asparagus
  • A. acutifolius Wild Asparagus
  • A. officinalis Asparagus
  • A. plumosus Asparagus Leaves - used in flower arrangements
• Colchicum autumnale Meadow Saffron - poisonous; the source of the anti-gout drug colchicine; may be confused with true saffron, Crocus
• Hemerocallis falva Golden Needles, Tiger Lily - dried buds used in Chinese cooking
• Hyacinthoides non-scripta Bluebell - formerly used for starch to stiffen collars and for making bookbinding and arrow-feather glues
• Lilium
  • L. candidum Madonna Lily, Bourbon Lily - bulbs eaten, petals used for eczema; flowers used for perfume
  • L. longiflorum Easter Lily
• Muscari Grape Hyacinth - bulbs eaten in Mediterranean countries
  • M. atlanticum Grape Hyacinth
  • M. comosum Grape Hyacinth, Tassel Hyacinth, Cipollino, Purse Tassel - bulbs eaten in Greece and the US, particularly pickled
• Paris Herb Paris - toxic, used in herbalism amd homeopathy
  • P. chinensis
  • P. polyphylla
  • P. quadrifolia
• Smilacina racemosa Treacle Berry - berries eaten
• Urginea scilla Squill - poisonous, used as a rat poison and in small doses as an expectorant

Family Pontederiaceae

• Eichhornia crassipes Water Hyacinth, Water Orchid - leaf stalks used in soup in Thai cooking; other parts used for fibre
• Pontederia cordata, Calusena lansium Wampee, Chinese Wampee

Family Smilaceae Smilax

• Smilax Blaspheme-vine, Bullbrier, Catbrier, Greenbrier
  • S. anceps Mauritius Sarsaparilla - used in herbalism
  • S. aspera Italian Sarsaparilla - used in herbalism
  • S. china China, China Root, China Smilax - used in herbalism
  • S. glabra Greenbriar - used in herbalism
  • S. officinalis Sarsaparilla, Honduras Sarsaparilla - used for flavouring drinks and as a herbal treatment for syphilis
  • S. ornata Jamaica Sarsaparilla - used in herbalism
  • S. pseudo-china China Smilax - used in herbalism
  • S. rotundifolia Greenbrier, Mexican Sarsaparilla - used in herbalism
  • S. spruceana Guatemala Sarsaparilla, Lisbon Sarsaparilla, Rio Negro Sarsaparilla - used in herbalism

Family Taccaceae

• Tacca
  • T. involucrata African Arrowroot
  • T. oceanica Tahiti Arrowroot
  • T. pinnatifida Pia, Pacific Arrowroot

Order Orchidales

Family Orchidae Orchids

• Cypripedium pubescens Ladies' Slipper - herbal pain killer
• Orchis macula Salep, Cuckoos, Early Purple Orchid - tubers eaten raw or made into sweets in India; used for the old drink 'salep'
• Vanilla Vanilla
  • V. planifolia
  • V. pompona

Subclass ZINGIBERIFLORAE

Order Bromeliales

Family Bromeleaceae Bromeliads

• Ananas Pineapple
  • A. bracteatus used for producing the enzyme bromelain
  • A. comosus Pineapple

Order Zingiberales

Family Cannaceae Cannas

• Canna edulis, C. achiras Achira, Edible Canna, Queensland Arrowroot, Purple Arrowroot, (Puerto Rico) Gruya, (St Kitts) Tous les Mois

Family Marantaceae Arrowroot

• Maranta
  • M. arundinacea Jamaican Arrowroot, St Vincent Arrowroot
  • M. indica East Indies Arrowroot
• Thaumatococcus daniellii a West African plant used for making the sweetener thaumatin

Family Musaceae Bananas

• Ensete banana-like fruit used from West Africa to Melanesia
  • E. ventricosum Dubana, False Banana - starch of pseudostem eaten
• Musa Banana - many species are grown in south-east Asia and the Pacific, but almost all bananas grown commercially are variants of one species, M. cavendishii
  • M. balbisiana
  • M. cavendishii Banana, Plantain
  • M. paradisiaca Plantain, Adam's Apple
  • M. textilis Manila Hemp, Manilla Hemp, Abaca - used for fibre

Family Strelitziaceae

• Ravenala madagascarensis Traveller's Palm - stems used as an emergency water supply

Family Zingiberaceae Ginger

• Aframomum melengueta Grains of Paradise - peppery spice
• Alpinia
  • A. galanga, Languas galanga Galangal, Siamese Ginger, Red Nutmeg, Laos, Lengkuas - used as a spice in the Far East and for treating sick elephants; flavouring of Russian 'Nastoika' liqueur
  • A. officinarum Greater Galangal - Oriental spice; its oil is 'Essence d'Amali' used in perfumery
  • A. zerumbet Shell Ginger - used like ginger
• Boesenbergia pandulata, B. rotunda Kachai, Kra Chaai - roots used as a South-East Asian spice, leaves used in Thai herbal medicine
• Curcuma
  • C. angustifolia Indian Arrowroot
  • C. aromatica used to treat epilepsy in China
  • C. longa Turmeric - tubers used dried as a spice, fresh as a vegetable, and (particularly in Israel) as an anti-blood-clotting drug
  • C. zedoaria Zedoary - source of an essential oil
• Elettaria cardamomum Cardamom
• Kaempferia
  • K. aethiopica, Siphonochilus aethiopicus rhizome used as a spice in Ghana
  • K. angustifolia Resurrection Lily, Himalayan Ginger Lily - rhizome chewed as a sweet; used in herbalism; essential oil extracted
  • K. galanga Resurrection Lily, Maraba, Kencur, Cikur - rhizomes used for flavoring in tropical Africa and Asia, as a hallucinogen in New Guinea, and is added to arrow poison in Malaysia
  • K. pandurata used as a flavouring and as a spicy vegetable
  • K. rotunda used as a flavouring and as a spicy vegetable
• Zingiber
  • Z. mioga used like ginger
  • Z. officinale Ginger, (Indonesia) Jahe

A Plant I Don't Have Any Name For

A cherry-like fruit confined to the Trabzon area of Turkey. Unlike a normal cherry, the fruit are not on paired stalks, but shorter and thicker stalks that attach more firmly to the parent twig. Slightly larger than a cherry; tastes like a black cherry but less sweet and with a tougher and darker skin. I presume it's in the plum/cherry genus but I'd like a name for it.

Cross-Reactions from Non-Food Allergens

Many allergies can be triggered by both food and non-food items, where there is a chemical similarity that makes the immune system respond in the same way - either they contain the same chemicals or a similarity in the shape of parts of the two molecules fools your immune system into thinking they're the same. Here are a few of these links.

Pollens

The following table is from Brostoff and Gamlin's Hayfever. The commonest cross-reactant is listed first.

Birch

Apple, Carrot, Cherry, Pear, Peach, Plum, Fennel, Walnut, Potato, Spinach, Wheat, Buckwheat, Peanut, Honey

Mugwort

Celery, Carrot, Spices, Melon, Watermelon, Apple, Camomile

Grass

Melon, Tomato, Watermelon, Orange, Swiss Chard

Pellitory

Cherry, Melon

Ragweed

Melon, Camomile, Honey, Banana, Sunflower seeds

Pine

Pine Nut

Hazel

Hazel Nut

Other Stuff

House Dust Mite

Kiwifruit, Papaya

Latex

watch this space

Plant Sources of Processed Foods and Food Additives

Just the beginning of a much larger section...

Bromelain

Pineapple

Caramel

Sugar

Chymopapain

Papaya

Corn Syrup

Corn

Crocin (food colouring: the substance also found in saffron)

Gardenia jasminoides

Dextrin

Corn, Potato, Tapioca

Guar Gum

Guar

Lecithin

Soya, Corn, Cotton Seed, Rape, Sunflower, Egg

Lutein

Aztec Marigold, Alfalfa

Malt

Barley

Maltol

Larch trees, pine needles

Papain

Papaya

Stearate, Stearic Acid

may be of animal origin or produced by hydrogenating vegetable oils, e.g. cottonseed oil

Tofu

Soya

Chemicals Common to Many Foods

Just the beginning of a much larger section...

Benzoic Acid

Berries, Cherry Bark, Cranberry, Prunes, Anise, Clove, Cassia, Cinnamon, Tea

Diacetyl

Cheese, Cocoa, Coffee, Berries, Pears

Malic Acid

Apple, Cherry, Peach, Tomato, Rhubarb, Pear, Plum, Berries

Oxalic Acid

Blackberry (trace), Grapefruit, Grape, Lemon, Lime, Orange, Pear, Plum, Broccoli, Potato, Rhubarb, Tomato

Palmitic Acid

Butter, Celery (seed), Palm Oil, Coffee, Tea, Anise (seed), herbs (seed)

Quinine

Cinchona, Grapefruit (pith)

Salicylate

Apple, Almond, Apricot, Berries, Plum, Prune, Grape, Cucumber, Clove, Wintergreen, Tomato, White Willow (bark)

Sorbic Acid

Mountain Ash

Sorbitol

Apple, Berries, Cherry, Pear, Plum

Tannic Acid, Tannate

Coffee, Tea, Palm (seed pods), Oak (bark, galls), Cherry (bark), Sumac (bark), Ferns

Tartaric Acid, Tartrate

Grape, Coffee

References

The following happen to be the sources I've used in this. All are either out of print or obscure and most are both. Sorry.

P.V. Bole and Yogini Vaghani, Field Guide to the Common Trees of India, Oxford University Press and World Wildlife Fund (India), 1991

Lesley Bremness, Herbs, Dorling Kindersley, 1994

Jonathan Brostoff and Linda Gamlin, Hayfever, Parragon, London 1994

D. G. Coursey, Yams, Longman (Tropical Agriculture Series), 1967

L.M. Cranwell, J.E. Green, and A.W.B. Powell, Food Is Where You Find It: a guide to emergency foods of the Western Pacific, Auckland Institute and Museum, 1944

Daniel E. Efron (editor), Ethnopharmacologic Search for Psychoactive Drugs, National Institute of Mental Health (US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare), 1967

Bob Flowerdew, Bob Flowerdew's Complete Fruit Book, Kyle Cathie, 1995

S.G. Harrison, G.B. Masefield, Michael Wallis and B.E. Nicholson, The Oxford Book of Food Plants, Oxford University Press, 1969 and Peerage Books, 1985

J. Hutchinson, The Families of Flowering Plants - I. Dicotyledons, Macmillan, 1926

Stewart Johnson, Feverfew, Sheldon Press, 1984

John Lust, The Herb Book, Bantam, 1974

D.J. Mabberley, The Plant-Book, Cambridge University Press, 1992

Cass McCallum, The Real Food Guide: v.1 Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, v.2 Pulses, Seeds and Grains, Molendinar/Richard Drew, 1981

Prosper Montagné, Larousse Gastronomique, Paul Hamlyn, 1961

J.L. Newman, Dimensions of Sandawe Diet, in Robson

Sri Owen, Indonesian Food and Cookery, Prospect Books, 1985

Jean Palaiseul, Grandmother's Secrets, Penguin, 1973

Andrew M. Pope, Roy Patterson, Harriet Burge (editors), Indoor Allergens: Assessing and Controlling Adverse Health Effects, National Academy Press, 1993

Christian Rätsch, The Dictionary of Sacred and Medicinal Plants, Prism, 1992

K.W. Riley, N. Mateo, G.C Hawtin, and R. Yadav (editors), Mountain Agriculture and Crop Genetic Resources, Aspect, 1990

J.R.K. Robson, Food, Ecology and Culture: Readings in the Anthropology of Dietary Practices, Gordon and Breach, 1980

G.M. de Rougemont, A Field Guide to the Crops of Britain and Europe, Collins, 1989

Jim Smith (editor), Food Additive User's Handbook, Blackie, 1991

Solomon H. Snyder and Malcolm H. Lader, Flowering Plants: Magic in Bloom, (part of The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Drugs), Burke, 1986

Clive Stace, New Flora of the British Isles, Cambridge University Press, 1991

Stafford Allen and Sons, The Romance of Empire Drugs, 1930s?

Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, History of Food, Blackwell, 1994

Legal Highs, Twentieth Century Alchemist, 1973

Colin Tudge, Food Crops for the Future, Blackwell, 1988

Harold Ward, Herbal Manual, C.W. Daniel, 1946

R.E. Wright-St Clair, Diet of the Maoris of New Zealand, in Robson

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