Many plant seeds are edible, some are edible only when processed by high temperature to neutralize toxins, and others are harmful or deadly. Plants and seeds often contain chemical compounds to discourage herbivores and seed eaters.
Poisonous Seeds
- Castor bean - lethal for humans, from only a few seeds.
- Apple, apricot, peach, plum, cherry, bitter almond, quince, etc. – when consumed in sufficient amounts.
Seeds Unsafe when Raw
- Durian (uncooked), horse-chestnut, lychee, nectarine, rambutan, golden chain, Annona, cotton, custard apple, datura, larkspur, locoweed, rosary pea, sour sop, sugar apple, wisteria, and yew.
- Some beans (uncooked) and soybeans (uncooked) - can cause gastric distress.
Safer Seeds
Nuts
By botanical definition, true nuts are a kind of fruit: dry, hard-shelled, that do not split on maturity to release seeds - like chestnuts, hazelnuts, and acorns.
Drupes are seed contained within a pit that is surrounded by a fleshy fruit - like almonds.
Angiosperm seeds have enclosure, a pod or a fruit - like peanuts.
Gymnosperm seeds have no enclosure - like pine nuts.
More broadly, nuts are defined by similar appearance and purpose: beech, Brazil nut, candlenut, cashew, squash and melon seeds (colocynth, Malabar gourd, pepitas, ugu), hickory, pecan, kola, macadamia, mamoncillo, mongongo, ogbono, paradise nut, pili, pistachio, shea nut, walnuts.
Legumes (Beans)
- Fabaceae family tribes:
- Dalbergieae - peanuts;
- Cicereae - chickpea, garbanzo, gram;
- Fabeae - peas;
- Millettieae - Indian beechnut;
- Phaseoleae - pigeon pea, soybea, lima, common bean, adzuki bea, green gram, black gram, mung bean, Bambara groundnut, cowpea;
- Vicieae - lentil, fava bean, broad bean.
Pseudocereals
- Amaranthaceae - quinoa, amaranth, amaranth grain, pitseed goosefoot, kañiwa.
- Capparaceae - hanza.
- Lamiaceae - chia.
- Linaceae - flax, linseed.
- Moraceae - breadnut.
- Pedaliaceae - sesame.
- Polygonaceae - buckwheat.
Cereals
- Poaceae family tribes:
- Andropogoneae - sorghum, maize (corn);
- Eragrostideae - finger millet, teff;
- Oryzeae - Asian rice, African rice, wild rice;
- Paniceae - black fonio, white fonio, proso millet, little millet, pearl millet, foxtail millet;
- Poeae - oat;
- Triticeae - barley, rye, wheat, durum, einkorn, spelt, kamut, emmer, kernza.
