List of edible seeds

Grains

Grains are the edible seed of a plants in the grass family Poaceae. Grains come in two varieties: the larger grains produced by drought-sensitive crops are called cereals and the smaller drought-resistant varieties are millets. Grains can be consumed in a variety of ways, all of which require husking and cooking, including whole, rolled, puffed, or ground into flour. Many cereals are present or past staple foods, providing a large fraction of the calories in the places in which they are eaten. Today, cereals provide almost half of all calories consumed in the world.

Other grasses with edible seeds include:

• Astrebla pectinata – barley Mitchell grass
• Brachiaria piligera – wattle signalgrass
• Eragrostis eriopoda – woollybutt grass
• Panicum species, such as native millet (Panicum decompositum) and hairy panic (P. effusum)
• Themeda triandra – kangaroo grass
• Yakirra australiensis – bunch panic

Pseudocereals

A pseudocereal, or pseudocereal grain, is the edible seed of a pseudocereal, one of a polyphyletic group of plants that produce seeds that resemble those of cereals. Pseudocereals are used in many of the same ways as cereals.

Legumes

A legume, or pulse, is the edible seed of a legume, a plant in the family Fabaceae. Legumes can be divided into grams, which do not split, and dals, which split.

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

• Acacia species (wattleseed), such as mulga (Acacia aneura), Halls Creek wattle (A. cowleana), southern ironwood (A. estrophiolata), umbrella bush (A. ligulata), Murray's wattle (A. murrayana), curara (A. tetragonophylla), witchetty bush (A. kempeana), wiry wattle (A. coriacea), mallee golden wattle (A. notabilis), ranji bush (A. pyrifolia), bardi bush (A. victoriae), coastal wattle (A. sophorae), shoestring acacia (A. stenophylla), and pindan wattle (A. tumida).
• Atriplex nummularia – old man saltbush
• Brachychiton species, such as kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus), northern kurrajong (B. diversifolius), desert kurrajong (B. gregorii), and red-flowered kurrajong (B. paradoxus).
• Bruguiera gymnorhiza – black mangrove
• Calandrinia balonensis – parakeelya
• Canarium australianum – mango bark
• Canavalia rosea – beach bean
• Entada phaseoloides – St. Thomas bean
• Marsilea drummondii – nardoo
• Vincetoxicum lineare – purple pentatrope

Nuts

According to the botanical definition, nuts are a particular kind of fruit.{{cite web | access-date=2006-12-26 | access-date=2006-12-26

• Acorn
• Almond
• Beech
• Brazil nut
• Candlenut
• Cashew
• Chestnuts, including:
  • Chinese chestnut
  • Japanese chestnut
  • Sweet chestnut
• Chilean hazel
• Egusi and other squash and melon seeds, including:
  • Colocynth
  • Malabar gourd
  • Pepita
  • Ugu
• Guinea peanut
• Hazelnuts, including:
  • Filbert
• Hickory, including:
  • Pecan
  • Shagbark hickory
• Kola nut
• Macadamia
• Malabar almond
• Malabar chestnut
• Mamoncillo
• Mongongo
• Ogbono
• Paradise nut
• Pili
• Pistachio
• Shea nut
• Walnuts, including:
  • Black walnut

Nut-like gymnosperm seeds

Edible gymnosperm seeds that resembles nuts include:

• Ginkgo
• Gnetum
• Juniper
• Monkey-puzzle
• Pine nuts, including
  • Pinhão
  • Chilgoza pine
  • Korean pine
  • Mexican pinyon
  • Piñon pine
  • Single-leaf pinyon
  • Stone pine
• Podocarps

Other

Other edible seeds that do not neatly fit into the above categories include:

• Cempedak
• Cocoa bean
• Coffee bean
• Cumin seed
• Durian
• Fox nut
• Hemp seed
• Jackfruit
• Lotus seed
• Mustard seed
• Osage orange seed
• Papaya seed
• Poppy seed
• Pomegranate seed
• Sunflower seed
• Pumpkin seed
• Watermelon seed
• Passion fruit seed

Footnotes

References

References

1. (2006-01-04). "Human Appropriation of the World's Food Supply". University of Michigan.
2. Desai, Babasaheb. (2000). "Handbook of Nutrition and Diet". CRC Press.
3. FAO. "ProdSTAT". FAOSTAT.
4. (1994). "Pulses and derived products". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
5. Isaacs, Jennifer. "Bush food: Aboriginal food and herbal medicine".
6. (1996). "Nuts and derived products". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.