Rice is a tropical cereal, but it also grows in some temperate regions with a warmer climate.
It is the second most important cereal in the world after maize. In the tropics it’s the primary cereal for human consumption. Rice is the main staple food for half the world’s population.
Enokitake (or Enoki) is an edible mushroom. The cultivated variety is a bundle of long thin white mushrooms. They are white because they are not exposed to light. In the wild, the mushroom looks different with a brown color, shorter and thicker stems, and bigger caps.
The Velvet apple (also called Mabolo) is not a real apple but rather a rare tropical fruit that is related to ebony trees. The name is well chosen as it looks like an apple but with a rather velvety skin, similar to a peach.
Cherimoya originates from the Andes area in South America. It is a small tree which is grown for its sweet fruits. The fruits are sometimes known as “custard apple” but that name is also used for several different (but related) fruit species.
The category “Leaf vegetables” includes plants of which the leaves are used as food. Well known leaf vegetables are lettuce and spinach. Some leaf vegetables (e.g. lettuce) are consumed raw, while others are cooked. Most common leaf vegetables come from short-lived herbaceous plants (e.g. lettuce), but also many trees and woody plants have edible leaves.
The “Vegetables” category in the World Crops Database includes edible plants that are grown as a food crop for their leaves, stems, roots, tubers, bulbs, corms, pods or flowers, but plants that are only grown for their sweet fruit or for seeds or grains are not included. Also plants that are consumed in smaller quantities,
The “Cereals” category in the World Crops Database includes cereal grains in the family Poaceae (or Gramineae). These are grasses cultivated for their seeds.
Iroko or African teak is a tree which grows in the African rain forest. The tree yields a strong and durable dark brown hardwood timber.
Fruits of the Great morinda can be eaten raw or is used in cooking (for example in curry. Seeds can be eaten when roasted. Leaves can be used as a green vegetable.
Great morinda is a fruit related to coffee.
True cardamom or Green cardamom is a plant in the ginger family. The green seed pods of the plant are dried and the seeds are used as a spice, sometimes whole but often as a ground powder. Cardamom is commonly used in Indian and other Asian food.
Artichoke is a thistle which is grown for the edible parts of the immature flowers.
Cardoon is the same species as artichoke, but it is a wild variety. The stems are eaten as a vegetable.
The immature green pods are eaten as a vegetable. They are called “drumstick”. Also the leaves are edible and sold as vegetables.
Tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius) is a tropical annual plant that is cultivated as a fiber crop or as a leaf vegetable.
The related White jute (Corchorus capsularis) is also a fiber crop.
The world crops database includes hundreds of crops, but a few of them are quite special. Some of the most amazing crops include Durian, Sichuan pepper and Miracle fruit.
Special effect crops Read More »
Safflower is a thistle-like plant with yellow, orange or red flowers. It is cultivated to extract vegetable oil from the seeds.
Flowers of Safflower are sometimes used as a cheaper substitute for saffron, which is why it is sometimes called “bastard saffron”.
Basil is a culinary herb which is used a lot in Italian food. It is also common in certain dishes of Northeast and Southeast Asia. There are different varieties of basil, each with a slightly different taste.
St John's wort, is a medicinal herb that is used to treat depression. It is grown commercially in some parts of south east Europe, but in other places it is considered a weed. The plant is poisonous to grazing livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, horses).
Jicama is a vine with edible tuberous root which can be eaten raw. After peeling the skin the tuberous roots look a bit like potato and have a watery but fresh taste.
The seeds of the plant are toxic as they contain rotenone, which is a pesticide used to kill insects and fish.
The Indian Screw Tree is a shrub which can be found in Asia (India, South china, Thailand, Malaysia, Java) and Australia. The fruits are pods that are twisted like a screw with a pointed tip.
This plant is sometimes classified in the Malvaceae family but sometimes in a different family: Sterculiaceae.
Snow fungus (also White jelly mushroom) consists of white, gelatinous fruiting bodies, which measure about 7 centimeters. It is commercially cultivated and very popular in China, often used in soups or savory dishes. It has a crispy rubbery texture.
Matsutake is an expensive mushroom which is especially valued in Japan and China. The mushroom has a spicy-aromatic odor.
White goosefoot is usually considered a weed but it is cultivated in some regions and used as a leaf vegetable. It is sometimes called pigweed, which is confusing as that name is also used for Common purslane and for Amaranthus spp.
Green amaranth is a species of vegetable in the Amaranth family (Amaranthaceae). The leaves are edible.
Fruit trees appear in a lot of paintings. Especially Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh has produced several works with all kinds of flowering trees. The following is a small gallery of paintings with fruit trees.
Fruit Trees Paintings Read More »
Fruits of the silver date palm are used to make wine or jelly. The sweet sap which is tapped from the tree can be drunk fresh, or is boiled to make palm sugar.
Fruits come in many shapes, sizes, tastes and of course colors. Painters often select a colorful display of fruits for their still life paintings. But also people carrying fruit baskets are popular topics in art. The following is a small gallery of paintings dedicated to fruits.
Kapok or Ceiba is a large tropical tree which produces a type of cotton. These fibers are the hairs that grow on the seeds and are used as a filling in mattresses, pillows, padding of seats, stuffed toys, and for insulation.
Kapok originates from Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean.
Irises are flowering plants in the genus Iris which includes many wild and cultivated species. The flowers are gold-yellow, yellow, white, blue, or purple, but cultivated varieties can have different colors (pink, orange, etc.).
Cultivated irises are used as ornamental plants in gardens or as cut flowers.
Cereals appear regularly in paintings, especially wheat fields seem to inspire artists. The following gallery of paintings includes several wheat fields painted by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh.
Fruits of the strawberry tree are used to make wine, jam or liquors.
The strawberry tree is not related to the strawberry. it is a shrub with fruits that look like strawberries.
Jojoba is a shrub which is grown for the jojoba oil, a liquid wax in its seeds.
The jojoba oil has various uses for example as lubricating oil, in pharmaceutical products, as bio-diesel fuel, or cooking oil.
Jojoba originates from North America and is cultivated in desert and semi-desert regions.
Flowers are colorful and have inspired many artists. The Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh painted a lot of colorful flowers and especially his sunflowers and irises are famous.
Agriculture has inspired many artists. Farmers collecting their crop from the field is a popular theme in agricultural art. Here is a small gallery of paintings that all relate to crop harvesting.
Harvesting Paintings Read More »
The FAOstat website provides production statistics for a wide range of crops and is updated every year. This post explores which are the crops with the highest global production. Crops are grouped in cereals, fruits, vegetables, pulses, fibers, and other categories.
Four species in the genus Zizania are known as wild rice, but they should not be confused with Asian rice (Oryza sativa), which is a plant in a different genus.
Of all species the grains can be used as a cereal, but the Manchurian wild rice is nowadays mainly cultivated in China to use the thickened stems as a vegetable.
Job’s tears is a tropical plant in the grasses family which is sometimes used as a cereal. It is also sometimes grown as an ornamental plant.
In China it is used together with other herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.
Fonio or White fonio (Digitaria exilis) is a cereal crop grown in the savannas of West Africa. It has very small seeds and is therefore one of the cereals that are called “millets”. Sometimes it is called “hungry rice”.
A related species Digitaria iburua is called Black fonio.
Many vegetables are produced and traded all over the world, but which one is the most common? If we look at the weight (kilos) produced, tomatoes are the most popular vegetable in the world, followed by dry onions, cabbages and other brassicas, and cucumbers.
Vegetables production Read More »
Many types of fruits are produced and traded all over the world. The most popular fruits in the world are bananas, apples, oranges and grapes.
Cereals include the most important food crops. The top three cereals in the world are Maize, Rice and Wheat. Together they represent about 90% of all cereals produced in the world.
Allspice is the dried fruit of Pimenta dioica. It combines the smell and taste of several spices including cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper.
Winter purslane is a small annual plant which originates from North America and which is used as a leaf vegetable. It is sometimes called Miner's lettuce because during the California Gold Rush miners used to eat it as a source of vitamin C.
The plow (or plough) is a basic instrument in agriculture and has been in use for thousands of years. Initially land was prepared with simple digging sticks or hoes. The first plows that were used were human powered, but when animals became domesticated plowing became easier with the use of horses and cattle.
Plowing Farmers Paintings Read More »
Daisies are flowers with a yellow center with white petals. They are often seen growing wild in lawns.
But daisies are also cultivated, for example as ground cover in gardens.
Daisy young leaves are edible and can be used raw in salads or cooked. Also flower buds and petals are edible and can be used in salads or soups or as a tea.
Spelt is a primitive type of wheat. It is an annual plant in the grasses family (Poaceae) which was already cultivated as a cereal 8 – 9,000 years ago.
Spelt wheat originates from the Fertile Crescent of the Near East, the same region where also other early cereals such as emmer wheat and barley were grown.
Sweetleaf or Stevia is a plant originating from South America. It is known for its sweet leaves, which are used to make sweeteners, which are also known as “stevia”.
In Brazil and Paraguay the leaves have been in use for hundreds of years, not only as sweetener but also as a traditional medicine.
Lemon verbena is a small shrub which is used as a herb. It has a typical lemon flavor. The leaves are used to make herbal tea or to flavor fish, poultry, salad dressings, jams, puddings, tea, etc. Lemon verbena can also be used in potpourri.
Perhaps not so colorful as fruits, but also vegetables are very common in paintings. Here is a gallery of paintings about vegetables.
Vegetables Paintings Read More »
