Please read: A personal appeal from Chris Marsh, Treasurer and Trustee of Plants For A Future. more
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What is PFAF?

Recommended this month

Have a look at our top rated edible plants and our top rated medicinal plants

 

Our Page of the week is  Pioneer Species - Re-establishing Woodland  and our Plant of the Week is Hippophae salicifolia

Free Leaflet this week: Edible Shrubs (next leaflet due 8 Feb 2012)

 

 

Plants For A Future: A resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants
Plants For A Future (PFAF) is a charitable company, originally set up to support the work of Ken and Addy Fern on their experimental site in Cornwall, where they carried out research and provided information on edible and otherwise useful plants suitable for growing outdoors in a temperate climate. Over time they planted 1500 species of edible plants on 'The Field' in Cornwall, which was their base since 1989. Over ten years ago, Ken began compiling a database, which currently consists of approximately 7000 species of plants.
For more information on the work carried out by the Ferns, see: The History of Plants For A Future

 

Plants For A Future: 20 years on

The trustees of PFAF, in recognition of the work of the Ferns, and for information about what they achieved, commissioned a detailed mapping and ecological Survey of The Field. The Survey Report is available for anyone who is interested. We have also employed professional website developers to redesign the website and improve the content of the database, work on which is ongoing. We share in, and continue to support, the aims of the founders.


The main aims of the charity are researching and providing information on ecologically sustainable horticulture, promoting a high diversity, holistic and permacultural approach namely 'woodland gardening'. We aim to use a minimal input of resources and energy, create a harmonious eco-system and cause the least possible damage to the environment whilst achieving high productivity.

 

The Plants for a Future Concept

It is our belief that plants can provide people with the majority of their needs, in a way that cares for the planet's health. A wide range of plants can be grown to produce all our food needs and many other commodities, whilst also providing a diversity of habitats for our native flora and fauna.

There are over 20,000 species of edible plants in the world yet fewer than 20 species now provide 90% of our food. Large areas of land devoted to single crops increase dependence upon intervention of chemicals and intensive control methods with the added threat of chemical resistant insects and new diseases. The changing world climate greatly affecting cultivation indicates a greater diversity is needed.

more

 

Free Report

Plants For A Future: Survey and Research Project on the 'The Field'

We have recently completed a survey and research project on the 'The Field',  the experimental site of Ken and Addy Fern ( Plants For A Future founders) in Cornwall, where they carried out research and provided information on edible and otherwise useful plants suitable for growing outdoors in a temperate climate. Over time they planted 1500 species of edible plants on 'The Field' in Cornwall, which was their base since 1989. You can download the report for free here

 

What's here

LATEST NEWS

For our latest news click here
DATABASE

Plant Search

Search for over 7000 edible and medicinal plants using a number of search criteria including: common and Latin names, keyword, family, habitat and use (medicinal, edible or other). Search Now

You can do a more detailed search using the Search Properties section. This allows you to search for a number of plant features at once. For example you might want to search for a plant that needs light sandy soil, that is between 1m and 5m high and that likes shade. The database search will find plants that have all 3 of these features.more
 
PLANT USES

The Plant Uses section gives a wide variety of uses for plants including their medicinal and edible qualities as well as other uses for example, building materials, dyes, paints, inks and paper or clothing. In many cases this information is supported by the database with direct links to relevant plants. Plant Uses

In this section you can also find the web page 'Top 20 Plants'. This page includes some of our favourite plants that we feel are so good they deserve an article all to themselves for example, Allium, Cornus and Viola. The page also has top rated plants for edibility and medicinal uses. The plants are rated by use, through our research and experience, and all have either a top rating of 5 apples for edibility or 5 hearts for medicinal use.

Additional pages include Woodland Gardening, Vegan Organics, Perennial Plants, and Habitats.more

Translations

 
RESEARCH
Information on the work at our 28 acre piece of land in Cornwall that was purchased as a place to demonstrate the many uses of plants with a very strong emphasis on perennial species. It is run by a small group of volunteers.more

Search: Plants For A Future Page Content

Apart from the 7000+ plant pages we have over 200 content pages with information on everything from woodland gardens to seed saving. You can search the Plants For A Future Page Content by using the search here
 

PFAF Appeal

Target for 2011-2012: £18,000 (approx $28,000 USD)
Raised so far: £2446.00 (to 27 January 2012)
For:-

  • A part-time person for plant research, administration, website and database development/maintenance
  • Technical improvements to the website including improved search functionality
  • Website costs including hosting and domain names
Thank you for all generous donations so far


General Disclaimer

To the best of our knowledge all the information contained herein is accurate and true.

However we cannot guarantee that everyone will react positively to all edible plants or other plant uses.

It is commonly known that many people suffer allergic reactions to conventional foods and products. Even amongst the more commonly eaten fruits, for example, there are plenty of instances where people react badly to them:

  • Many people are allergic to strawberries and will come out in a rash if they eat them.
  • Some people develop a rash if they touch the stems of parsnips.
  • Potatoes become poisonous if they turn green.
  • Eating large quantities of cabbage can adversely affect the thyroid gland.

In general, we believe that the overall health of people will be greatly improved by bringing more diversity into their diet and through using more natural products.

We strongly recommend the following preventative precautions when trying anything new:

  • Make sure you have identified the plant correctly
  • Try a small taste of anything new in your diet. If there are no side effects increase the quantity at the next meal.
  • When trying new soaps or skin applications try them on a very small area before proceeding to larger areas of the body. Look for any uncomfortable reactions or changes and if there is do not proceed with further application.

No liability exists against Plants for a Future or any member of Plants for a Future, nor can they be held responsible for any allergy, illness or injurious effect that any person or animal may suffer as a result of information in this catalogue or through using any of the plants mentioned by Plants for a Future.
 

Plant of the week

Plant of the week

Hippophae salicifolia / Willow-Leaved Sea Buckthorn

Frost Hardy Well drained soil Moist Soil Wet Soil Full sun

Amazing Plant Fact

Utricularia, commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 227 species. They occur in fresh water and wet soil as terrestrial or aquatic species across every continent except Antarctica. Utricularia are cultivated for their flowers, which are often compared with those of snapdragons and orchids, and among carnivorous plant enthusiasts. All Utricularia are carnivorous and capture small organisms by means of bladder-like traps. Terrestrial species tend to have tiny traps that feed on minute prey such as protozoa and rotifers swimming in water-saturated soil. The traps can range in size from 0.2 mm to 1.2 cm. Aquatic species, such as U. vulgaris (common bladderwort), possess bladders that are usually larger and can feed on more substantial prey such as water fleas (Daphnia), nematodes and even fish fry, mosquito larvae and young tadpoles. Despite their small size, the traps are extremely sophisticated. In the active traps of the aquatic species, prey brush against trigger hairs connected to the trapdoor. The bladder, when "set", is under negative pressure in relation to its environment so that when the trapdoor is mechanically triggered, the prey, along with the water surrounding it, is swept into the bladder. Once the bladder is full of water, the door closes again, the whole process taking only ten to fifteen thousandths of a second.

PFAF Newsletter

Stay informed about PFAFs progress, challenges and hopes by signing up for our free email newsletter. You will receive a range of benefits including:
• important announcements and news
• exclusive content not on the website
• updates on new information & functionality of the website & database

We will not sell or share your email address. You can unsubscribe at anytime.

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Latest Blog

Plants For A Future’s Autumn Newsletter. Free Report, QR Codes, Image Update, Website Tips.

Free Information leaflets

Penpol suvey published

Trees for Health forest garden

Inaugural meeting

Be an expert contributor

The new website

Employment Opportunities

New people to look after the land

Support Us

Your support as a volunteer or donor allows us to continue our work and is very important to us. Ways you can help to support our valuable work..Read More
 

All the information contained in these pages is Copyright (C) Plants For A Future, 1996-2010.
Plants For A Future is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Charity No. 1057719, Company No. 3204567,
Web Design & Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Some information cannot be used for commercial reasons or be modified (but some can). Please view the copyright link for more information.