What is it? The cassava plant is a tall woody shrub. Many people eat its starchy root, called a tuber (the part of the plant that stores nutrients), as a source of carbohy-drates, just as many Canadians eat potatoes.

Where is it grown? Cassava is grown and consumed in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is grown by millions of farmers living in poverty, often on lands that will produce few other crops.

Growing Conditions: The plant reproduces by vegetative reproduction, meaning that it reproduces without seeds or spores. However, for farming purposes, the plant does not reproduce very well on its own. Farmers must cut off a part of the stem and place it in the ground to grow into a new plant.

The cassava plant needs at least 8 months of hot weather to produce a crop – it does not survive in cold weather. Cassava should be planted in full sunlight because it does not grow well in the shade.

Cassava is ready to be harvested about a year after planting, depending on the variety being grown. Cas-sava roots are harvested by digging them out of the ground, similar to a potato. The roots should be dug up carefully to prevent damage.

What makes cassava so popular around the world is that it grows during times of drought and in poor quality soil. While it is a hardy plant, and helps to feed millions of people in dry and hot climates, it does not store for long periods of time once it is dug up. As a result, some people ‘store’ the root by keeping it in the ground to grow. It is a less desirable food this way, but it becomes a way to prepare for times when food may not be available.

Nutritional Value: Cassava is high in carbohydrates, and thus provides much needed energy to the people who consume it. However, it is low in proteins, fat, and some minerals and vitamins. The roots do contain small amounts of calcium and vitamin C, but they may be lost when the plant is processed. The leaves are very nutritious, rich in iron and other nutrients.

Uses: Cassava can be used in a variety of ways; it can be boiled, baked, steamed, grilled, fried, mashed or added to stews. Dried roots can also be milled into flour. But beware! Many types should never be eaten raw because they can cause cyanide poisoning!

In some countries, the leaves are also eaten. They are picked, pounded, and served in stews and sauces.

Other information: Have you ever eaten tapioca pudding or bubble tea? The tapioca balls or ‘bubbles’ are made of the cassava root. It is also what arrowroot is made of—the main ingredient in arrowroot cookies, which are often fed to babies.

CassavaAlso called yuca (in Spanish) and manioc

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What is it? Lentils are legumes (mean-ing that the seeds grow in a pod), similar to beans. The plants are about 30-50 cm tall and have 4 to 7 pairs of leaves. Flow-ers begin growing on the lowest branch-es, gradually moving up the plant. Each flower produces a short pod containing one or two seeds, which are the part of the plant that is eaten. The flowers repro-duce sexually, but are self-pollinating.

Where is it grown? Lentils are believed to have originated in central Asia and have been eaten for thousands of years.

Lentils grow and are eaten by people all over the world. They are particularly popular in South Asia (India and surrounding countries) and the Middle East and North Africa (such as Israel, Turkey, and Morocco). Growing conditions: Lentils grow well in dry and cooler conditions. The young plants can tolerate frost, which means that they can be planted in the spring in Canada. The plant does not grow well when there is too little water, too much water, or too high of temperatures.

The lentil plant is adapted to all soil types, from sand to clay loam, as long as there is good drainage. The ideal soil is deep, sandy loam soil high in phosphorus and potassium.

Nutritional Value: Lentils are very nutritious! They contain high amounts of dietary fibre, lean protein, folate and iron. Lentils are a good option for vegetarians or people who don’t eat very much meat (like many people around the world who cannot afford to eat meat regularly).

Uses: In many parts of the world, lentils are frequently eaten with rice, barley or wheat.

Lentils are found in soups, salads, stews and curries (a traditional Indian meal). In some re-gions, lentils can also be an ingredient in desserts.

Other information: Canada is the world’s largest exporter of lentils. Canadian farmers grow lentils to sell to over 100 countries! Ninety-nine percent of Canada’s lentils are grown in Sas-katchewan, with the remaining coming from Southern Alberta and Manitoba.

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What is it? Mung beans are the small round seeds of a mung plant. They are considered a legume, like kidney beans and lentils. The mung bean plant looks like a green bean plant that you may see growing in a Canadian garden. The plants have deep roots, small leaves and can grow to 60–75 cm tall. Each plant grows about 30-40 pods. Each pod contains about 10 to 15 seeds, which are consumed as beans.

Where is it grown? Mung beans have been grown in India for thousands of years. Today they are mainly grown in India, China, and Southeast Asia.

Growing conditions: Mung bean plants grow in warm to hot conditions (around 25oC – 35oC), and require a lot of sunlight. They tolerate dry conditions, which makes them suitable in regions that experience drought. They also require about 90-120 frost free days. Mung bean plants grow best in fertile, well-drained sandy loam soil with a pH between 6.2 and 7.2.

The plants reproduce sexually. However, because the plants are self-pollinating they do not require wind or insects to reproduce.

Nutritional Value: Mung beans are very nutritious! They contain high amounts of potassium, magnesium, folate, fibre, and vitamin B6. They are also a good source of iron and protein—which is good news for people who don’t eat a lot of meat, either by choice or because of economic rea-sons.

Uses: Mung beans are used in many Asian dishes, such as Indian and Chinese foods. They are cooked in many ways: soups and curries, ground into flour for use in flatbreads, mixed with rice or oatmeal, pureed into a spread for rice or bread. They can even be an ingredient in sweet pastries!

While you may have never heard of mung beans, you have probably heard of bean sprouts which are used in salads, sandwiches and Asian dishes. These sprouts are grown from the mung bean.

Other information: Unlike other types of beans, mung beans contain very few oligosaccharides, the sugars responsible for flatulence. So you can eat them without worrying about embarrassing gas!

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What is it? The plantain is a member of the banana family. The plantain plant resembles a banana plant, and the plantain fruit resembles a green banana. However, while bananas taste sweet, plantains are starchy, like a potato. Plan-tains are also larger, and have a thicker peel, than bananas.

Where is it grown? Plantain is a staple crop and food for many subsistence farmers in West and Central Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, and South East Asia.

Growing conditions: After planting, it takes about a year and a half for the plant to produce fruit. Plantains grow best in hot and humid climates (around 27°C). Plantain plants require rainfall of at least 1000 mm per year, and a lot of sunlight. However, they tolerate dry condi-tions better than banana plants. They also need a deep soil, rich in organic matter, which is well draining and well ventilated.

Plantain plants are often called ‘trees’ and can grow to heights of 6.0-7.5 meters. However, they are not actually trees. What appears to be a tree trunk at the base of the plant is actu-ally made up of layers of leaf coverings that make up the stem of the plant. The plant pro-duces a cluster of beautiful flowers. Some of these flowers then mature into plantain fruits, which is the part that is eaten.

Nutritional Value: The plantain fruits are fairly nutritious. They have more calories than bananas, which is important for people around the world who struggle to get enough to eat. They contain less sugar, more dietary fibre, vitamin A and potassium than bananas. Fresh plantain has more vitamin C than bananas. However, boiling and cooking the plantain de-stroys much of this vitamin.

Uses: Plantains may look like bananas, but they are not eaten the same way. Plantains are starchy, like potatoes and sweet potatoes. Therefore, they should be boiled, steamed, roast-ed, or deep fried to make them soft and edible. They can also be made into tasty chips!

Other information: Plantains are sometimes referred to as the pasta and potato of the Caribbean because they are so common in this region of the world.

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What is it? Quinoa is a plant with a thick, erect, woody stalk, and wide leaves. It can grow from 30 cm to 3 meters in height. The plant develops a flower, which then turns into seeds (much like a dandelion). The large seed heads (the part of the plant where the seeds grow) can be a range of colours, including red, purple, orange, green, black and yellow. The seeds are the part of the plant that are known as ‘quinoa’ and are eaten as a grain. The leaves can also be eaten.

Where is it grown? Quinoa comes from the Andean mountain regions of South America. It has been grown in this region as a staple food crop for thousands of years. Today, many people around the world eat it because of its high nutrient content.

Growing conditions: Quinoa grows high up in the mountains—a place where few other plants can grow. In general, quinoa is a hardy plant. Because of its root system, which develops from one long root to form a highly branched system, the plant is quite resistant to drought. It can also withstand poor soil conditions, cooler weather and high altitudes. In South America, quinoa is grown from coastal regions to regions over 4,000 m*. It grows best in climates with temperatures that vary between -4 °C during the night to around 35oC during the day.

Nutritional Value: The quinoa seed is known as a super-food—a food that is very nutritious! It contains more protein than many other food plants. It also contains many essential amino acids, building blocks of protein and is high in iron, calcium, phosphorus, fibre, vitamin E and B complex, and potassium.

Uses: Like rice, quinoa seeds are usually cooked by boiling them in water. Traditionally, it is eaten as a porridge, with stews or soups, or as a side dish. It can also be ground into flour to make flat-breads. The leaves can be eaten as a vegetable, like spinach.

In North America many products are now made with quinoa. Pastas and cereals can be made of quinoa, and it is an ingredient in many granolas, breads, and crackers.

Other information: Quinoa was sacred to the Incas, an indigenous peoples who lived in South America. They referred to quinoa as “the mother of all grains.”

Quinoa seeds are not technically a cereal crop because the plant is not a grass. Rather, it is known as a ‘pseudo-cereal’ – a name for foods that are cooked and eaten like grains and contain similar nutrients but are not true grains.

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* As a reference point Mount Logan, which is the highest point in Canada, is about 1815 meters.

What is it? There are several types of sorghum, including grain sorghum, grass sorghums (used for animal feed), and sweet sorghums (used for syrups). The most important type is the sorghum plant that produces grains, which are eaten by millions of people around the world.

Where is it grown: Sorghum likely originated in North Eastern Africa. From there it moved throughout Africa and to parts of Asia, where it remains an important crop. It is grown by many subsistence farmers in these areas who eat it as a staple food.

Sorghum is also grown in the United States, but mainly as food for animals and biofuels. Since sorghum seeds should only be planted in soils which have warmed to at least 18.3°C, they do not grow in colder climates like Canada.

Growing conditions: Sorghum is a warm-season grass which is adapted to grow in soils that other plants won’t tolerate. It will grow in wet soils. Still, it is also a drought-tolerant plant. Therefore, it is an important plant and food source in many dry regions of the world.

Sorghum is mainly grown in soils with high clay content, which usually are not suitable for the production of maize (corn), another staple food plant in many parts of Africa. Sorghum does not grow well in sandy soils. The sorghum plant is self-pollinating, so it doesn’t need wind or birds to reproduce.

Nutritional Value: Unlike some other grains, it is commonly eaten with all of its outer layers. Therefore, it retains most of its nutrients. It has high levels of magnesium, iron, copper, calci-um, phosphorous, and potassium, and very high levels of protein and dietary fibre.

Uses: Grain sorghum is used to make flour, porridge and side dishes. The grain can be cooked and eaten like rice, roasted or popped. Sorghum flour can be used to make flat-breads, bread and noodles.

Other information: Sorghum is one of the most important cereal crops in the world, along with wheat, corn, rice and barley.

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What is it? The teff plant is an annual grass that produces a small grain. This is the part of the plant that is consumed as food.

Where is it grown? Teff has traditionally been grown as a cereal crop in Ethiopia, and is a staple food in that country. Today, it is also grown and consumed in various places around the world. Its popularity has increased in North America and Europe because of its nutritional value.

Growing conditions: The teff plant is a five-stem, leafy grass with a shallow root system that grows from 25-135 cm tall. It grows into a long grass with spikes, in which the individual grains grow. Growing in the fields, teff appears purple, grey, red, or yellowish brown. Teff is ready for harvest between 60 and 120 days after planting when the leaves of the plants turn from green to yellow in colour.

The teff plant is quite hardy— it can grow where many other crops can’t. The crop can grow in both wet soils and dry soils, and in both high elevations (as high as 3000 meters of altitude) and low elevations (sea level).* It can also grow at temperatures ranging from 10°C to 27°C in areas where there is an average annual rainfall of 450–550 mm.** Teff plants are sensitive to day length and grow best when there is about 12 hours of sunlight per day.

Nutritional Value: The teff grain is regarded by many people in North America and Europe as a new ‘superfood’—a food with many health benefits. Teff has more calcium content than any other grain and is an excellent source of vitamin C—a nutrient not commonly found in grains. It is also high in dietary fibre, protein, and iron.

Uses: In Ethiopia, teff is often milled into flour to make a spongy pancake known as injera. In traditional Ethiopian restaurants, injera is served with all meals, topped with meats, vegetables and sauces. Ethiopians also use teff to make porridge.

Today, in North America and Europe teff is an ingredient in pancakes, snacks, breads, cereals, wraps, and many other products.

Other information: It is considered to be among the first plants to be domesticated by human beings! Another great thing about teff is that it is relatively disease and pest free! The grain is so small—about the size of a poppy seed— that it is hard for pests, like rats, to eat.

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* As a reference, Mount Logan in Yukon is the highest point in Canada. It is about 1815 m. **Average precipitation of some Canadian cities from 1982-2010: Halifax 1468 mm, Vancouver 1457 mm, Toronto 831 mm, Winnipeg 521 mm, Edmonton 456 mm.