An edible seed is a

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

that is suitable for

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

consumption. Of the six major plant parts, seeds are the dominant source of human

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of o ...

s and

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

. A wide variety of plant

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

provide edible seeds; most are

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants ...

s, while a few are

gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, '' Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμν ...

s. As a global food source, the most important edible seeds by weight are

cereal A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...

s, followed by legumes, nuts, then spices. Cereals ( grain crops) and legumes (

pulses In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...

) correspond with the botanical families

Poaceae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

and

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

, respectively, while nuts,

pseudocereal A pseudocereal or pseudograin is one of any non-grasses that are used in much the same way as cereals (true cereals are grasses). Pseudocereals can be further distinguished from other non-cereal staple crops (such as potatoes) by their being proc ...

s, and other seeds form polyphylic groups based on their culinary roles.

Grains (cereals and millets)

Grains are the edible seed of a plants in the grass family

. Grains come in two varieties, the larger grains produced by drought-sensitive crops are called

cereals A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...

, and the smaller drought-resistant varieties are millets. Grains can be consumed in a variety of ways, all of which require

husk Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...

ing and cooking, including whole, rolled, puffed, or

ground Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the surface of the Earth not covered by water * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical c ...

into

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cul ...

. 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 ''Astrebla pectinata'', commonly known as barley Mitchell grass, is a herb of the family Poaceae from the order Poales. Morphology and habitat ''Astrebla pectinata'' grows to 1 m (3.25 ft). The flowers are pollinated by wind and are he ...

'' – 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

, 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 The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

. Legumes can be divided into grams, which do not split, and dals, which split. Atriplexnummularia

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

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...

'' 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 ''Atriplex nummularia'' is a species of saltbush from the family ''Amaranthaceae'' and is a large woody shrub known commonly as oldman saltbush. ''A. nummularia'' is native to Australia and occurs in each of the mainland states, thriving in ari ...

'' – old man saltbush * ''

Brachychiton ''Brachychiton'' (kurrajong, bottletree) is a genus of 31 species of trees and large shrubs, native to Australia (the centre of diversity, with 30 species), and New Guinea (one species). Fossils from New South Wales and New Zealand are estimat ...

'' 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 ''Canarium australianum'' is a species of trees, native to Australia and Papua New Guinea, of the plant family Burseraceae. Common names include mango bark, scrub turpentine, carrot wood, parsnip wood, Melville Island white beech and brown cudg ...

'' – mango bark * '' Canavalia rosea'' – beach bean * ''

Entada phaseoloides ''Entada phaseoloides'' commonly named the box bean or St. Thomas’ bean, first described by Linnaeus, with its current name described by Merrill. ''E. phaseoloides'' is a liana in the pea family: called ''gugo'', ''balugo'' or ''tamayan'' i ...

'' – St. Thomas bean * ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as ...

'' species, such as tammin mallee (''Eucalyptus leptopoda'') and

coolibah ''Eucalyptus coolabah'', commonly known as coolibah or coolabah, is a species of tree found in eastern inland Australia. It has rough bark on part or all of the trunk, smooth powdery cream to pink bark above, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves ...

(''E. microtheca'') * ''

Marsilea drummondii ''Marsilea drummondii'' is a species of fern known by the common name nardoo. It is native to Australia, where it is widespread and common, particularly in inland regions. It is a rhizomatous perennial aquatic fern that roots in mud substrates a ...

'' – nardoo *'' Portulaca'' species, such as

common purslane ''Portulaca oleracea'' (common purslane, also known as little hogweed, or pursley) is an annual (actually tropical perennial in USDA growing zones 10–11) succulent in the family Portulacaceae. Description The plant may reach in height. I ...

(''Portulaca oleracea'') and large pigweed (''P. intraterranea'') *''

Nymphaea gigantea ''Nymphaea gigantea'' is a species of aquatic perennial herbaceous plant native to Australia and New Guinea. ''N. gigantea'' is a tropical and sub-tropical species that establishes tubers in the muddy bottoms of still waters. Petals can be see ...

'' – giant waterlily * '' Rhyncharrhena linearis'' – purple pentatrope

Nuts

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

Almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genu ...

Beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

Brazil nut The Brazil nut (''Bertholletia excelsa'') is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and it is also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds. It is one of the largest and longest-lived trees in the Amazon rainforest ...

* Candlenut *

Cashew The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus ''Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cul ...

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrel ...

s, including: ** Chinese chestnut ** Japanese chestnut ** Sweet chestnut * Chilean hazel * Egusi and other squash and

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". T ...

seeds, including: ** Colocynth **

Malabar gourd ''Cucurbita ficifolia'' is a species of squash, grown for its edible seeds, fruit, and greens. It has common names including Asian pumpkin, black seed squash, chilacayote, cidra, fig-leaf gourd, and Malabar gourd. Compared to other domesticate ...

** Pepita ** Ugu * Guinea peanut *

Hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according ...

s, including: ** Filbert *

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mex ...

, including: ** Pecan **

Shagbark hickory ''Carya ovata'', the shagbark hickory, is a common hickory in the Eastern United States and southeast Canada. It is a large, deciduous tree, growing well over tall, and can live more than 350 years. The tallest measured shagbark, located in ...

* Kola nut * Macadamia * Malabar almond * Malabar chestnut *

Mamoncillo ''Melicoccus bijugatus'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the soapberry family Sapindaceae, native or naturalized across the New World tropics including South and Central America, and parts of the Caribbean. Its stone-bearing fruits are edible. It is ...

Mongongo The mongongo tree, mongongo nut or manketti tree (''Schinziophyton rautanenii'') is a member of the family Euphorbiaceae and of the monotypic genus ''Schinziophyton''. A large, spreading tree, the mongongo reaches 15–20 metres tall. It is ...

* Ogbono *

Paradise nut ''Lecythis'' is a genus of woody plant in the Lecythidaceae The Lecythidaceae comprise a family of about 20 genera and 250–300 species of woody plants native to tropical South America, Africa (including Madagascar Madagascar (; ...

Pili Pili may refer to: Common names of plants * '' Canarium ovatum'', a Philippine tree that is a source of the pili nut * ''Heteropogon contortus'', a Hawaiian grass used to thatch structures Places * Pili, Camarines Sur, is a municipality in the ...

* Pistachio *

Shea nut ''Vitellaria paradoxa'' (formerly ''Butyrospermum parkii''), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree (), or vitellaria, is a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Vitellaria'',Walnuts, including: **

Black walnut ''Juglans nigra'', the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to North America. It grows mostly in riparian zones, from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south to ...

Nut-like gymnosperm seeds

Edible

seeds that resembles nuts include: *

Cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male o ...

s * Ginkgo *

Gnetum ''Gnetum'' is a genus of gymnosperms, the sole genus in the family Gnetaceae within the Gnetophyta. They are tropical evergreen trees, shrubs and lianas. Unlike other gymnosperms, they possess vessel elements in the xylem. Some species have been ...

* Juniper * Monkey-puzzle * Pine nuts, including ** Pinhão ** Chilgoza pine ** Korean pine ** Mexican pinyon ** Piñon pine ** Single-leaf pinyon ** Stone pine *

Podocarps Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber P ...

Other

Pomegranate fruit - whole and piece with arils

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

Cocoa bean The cocoa bean (technically cocoa seed) or simply cocoa (), also called the cacao bean (technically cacao seed) or cacao (), is the dried and fully Fermentation, fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', from which cocoa solids (a mixture of non ...

Coffee bean A coffee bean is a seed of the '' Coffea'' plant and the source for coffee. It is the pip inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a coffee cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit. Even th ...

* Durian * Fox nut * Hemp seed *

Jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family ( Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...

* Lotus seed * Mustard seed * Osage orange seed *

Poppy seed Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the opium poppy ('' Papaver somniferum''). The tiny, kidney-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years. It is still widely used in many countri ...

* Pomegranate seed * Sunflower seed *

Pumpkin seed A pumpkin seed, also known in North America as a pepita (from the Mexican es, pepita de calabaza, "little seed of squash"), is the edible seed of a pumpkin or certain other cultivars of squash. The seeds are typically flat and asymmetricall ...

Watermelon seed Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 variet ...

Grains (cereals and millets)

Pseudocereals

Legumes

Nuts

Nut-like gymnosperm seeds

Other

See also

Footnotes

References

Further reading