List of edible seeds facts for kids

An edible seed is a seed that people and animals can eat. Seeds are super important because they give us most of our calories (energy) and protein! Many different kinds of plants have edible seeds.

The most important edible seeds for food around the world are cereals (like wheat and rice), followed by legumes (like beans and lentils), then nuts, and finally spices.

Cereals are edible seeds that are used to create many different food products.

Grains: Cereals and Millets

Grains are the edible seeds from plants in the grass family. There are two main types:

• Cereals are larger grains from plants that need a lot of water. Think of crops like wheat and corn.
• Millets are smaller grains from plants that can grow well even when it's dry.

Grains can be eaten in many ways. You usually need to remove their outer shell (husk) and cook them. You can eat them whole, rolled (like oats), puffed (like puffed rice), or ground into flour (like wheat flour for bread). Cereals provide almost half of all the calories people eat worldwide!

Common Cereals
Family	Tribe	Genus	Species	Seed name(s)	Photo
Poaceae	Andropogoneae	Sorghum	S. bicolor	sorghum
		Zea	Z. mays	maize, corn, corn kernel
	Eragrostideae	Eleusine	E. coracana	finger millet
		Eragrostis	E. tef	teff
	Oryzeae	Oryza	O. sativa	Asian rice
			O. glaberrima	African rice
		Zizania		wild rice
	Paniceae	Digitaria	D. exilis	black fonio
			D. iburua	white fonio
		Panicum	P. miliaceum	proso millet
			P. sumatrense	little millet
		Pennisetum	P. glaucum	pearl millet
		Setaria	S. italica	foxtail millet
	Poeae	Avena	A. sativa	oat, oat groat
	Triticeae	Hordeum	H. vulgare	barley, barley groat
		Secale	S. cereale	rye, rye berry
		× Triticosecale		triticale
		Triticum	T. aestivum	wheat, wheat berry
			T. durum	durum, durum wheat
			T. monococcum	einkorn
			T. spelta	spelt, spelt wheat
			T. turanicum	kamut
			T. turgidum	emmer
		Thinopyrum	T. intermedium	Kernza

Pseudocereals

A pseudocereal is a plant that isn't a true cereal (it's not in the grass family), but its seeds look and are used like cereals. They are often used in similar ways to make food.

Pseudocereals
Family	Genus	Species	Seed name(s)	Photo
Amaranthaceae	Amaranthus		amaranth, amaranth grain
	Chenopodium	C. berlandieri	pitseed goosefoot
		C. pallidicaule	kañiwa
		C. quinoa	quinoa
Capparaceae	Boscia	B. senegalensis	hanza
Lamiaceae	Salvia	S. hispanica	chia, chia seed
Linaceae	Linum	L. usitatissimum	flax, flaxseed, linseed
Moraceae	Brosimum	B. alicastrum	breadnut
Pedaliaceae	Sesamum	S. indicum	sesame, sesame seed
Polygonaceae	Fagopyrum	F. esculentum	buckwheat, buckwheat groat

Legumes

A legume, also called a pulse, is the edible seed from a plant in the pea family (Fabaceae). Legumes are often split into two groups: "grams" which don't split, and "dals" which do split when cooked.

Legumes
Family	Tribe	Genus	Species	Seed name(s)	Photo
Fabaceae	Dalbergieae	Arachis	A. hypogaea	peanut (groundnut)
	Cicereae	Cicer	C. arietinum	chickpea, garbanzo bean, gram
	Fabeae	Pisum	P. sativum	pea
	Millettieae	Millettia	M. pinnata	Indian beechnut
	Phaseoleae	Cajanus	C. Cajan	pigeon pea
		Glycine	G. max	soybean
		Phaseolus	P. lunatus	lima bean
			P. vulgaris	common bean
		Vigna	V.aconitifolia	moth bean
			V. angularis	adzuki bean
			V. mungo	black gram
			V. radiata	mung bean, green gram
			V. subterranea	Bambara groundnut
			V. unguiculata	cowpea
	Vicieae	Lens	L. culinaris	lentil
		Vicia	V. faba	fava bean, broad bean

Some beans can be eaten raw, but many need to be cooked first. For example, some traditional cultures make a "seed cake" from beans that need heating.

Nuts

When we talk about nuts in science, they are a specific type of fruit. For example, chestnuts, hazelnuts, and acorns are true nuts.

But in cooking, the word "nut" is used more broadly. It includes many seeds that look and are used like true nuts, even if they aren't botanically nuts. Almonds and cashews are good examples of these "culinary nuts."

Here are some common edible nuts and nut-like seeds:

• Acorn
• Almond
• Brazil nut
• Cashew
• Chestnuts
• Hazelnuts
• Hickory nuts (like Pecans)
• Macadamia
• Pistachio
• Walnuts

Nut-like Gymnosperm Seeds

Pine nuts

Some edible seeds from gymnosperm plants (plants that don't have flowers or fruits, like pine trees) also look and taste like nuts. These include:

• Ginkgo seeds
• Pine nuts (like those from Korean pine or Piñon pine)

Other Edible Seeds

Pomegranate has edible seeds.

There are many other edible seeds that don't fit into the categories above. Here are a few examples:

See also

In Spanish: Semillas comestibles para niños