PANACEA has developed an Inventory of Non-Food Crops, a database of experiences and skills in Non-Food Crops (NFC) in Europe, through the analysis of research and coordination projects activities in the last 10 years.
The Inventory has identified 93 different NFC crops so far, including lignocellulosic, oilseed, carbohydrates and speciality crops, which can provide renewable feedstock for bio-based applications. 60 are dedicated herbaceous crops (either new, or minor medicinal/aromatic crops that already have a certain market in Europe), 15 are trees that can be either coppice or prunings, and 17 are well established food crops which produce non-food oils or other bio-compounds along their food chains (like sunflower for instance).
The research projects in lignocellulosic crops for bioenergy and fiber have focused on the development of a few high yielding crop species suitable for cultivation in Europe, like giant reed, hemp, miscanthus, fiber and sugar sorghum, switchgrass, cardoon and trees like poplars, willows and eucalyptus. Among the oilseed crops, Ethiopian mustard, camelina and crambe appear as the first NFC option after sunflower and rapeseed food crops. Carbohydrate and speciality crops research projects have looked at a variety of crop species in order to diversify the aromatic compounds that can be extracted from their biomass. For this reason carbohydrate and speciality crops score a smaller number of projects in PANACEA Inventory than lignocellulosic and oilseed crops, but this is not due to a minor interest in their products, rather to a different research approach.
All in all, the crops most popular in terms of the number of projects focusing on them are miscanthus, giant reed, sugar cane, fiber and sugar sorghum, plantains, capers, switchgrass and sunflowers.
Links to the projects of PANACEA Inventory will be available in PANACEA Platform in 2019, along with scientific publications about the cultivation, agronomic management, harvest and logistics of the less popular NFC included in the inventory.
In the meantime, for more information about the Invebtory you can refer to Deliverable D1.1 and Deliverable D1.2 in PANACEA’s Libray. The following table provides an overview of the crops included in PANACEA Inventory.
| Crop no. | Crop species (latin name) |
Crop species (vulgar name) |
|
| 1 | Abies spp. | Spruce | |
| 2 | Acacia spp. | Acacia | |
| 3 | Alnus spp. | Alder | |
| 4 | Anacardium occidentale | Cashew nut | |
| 5 | Artemisia dubia | Mugwort, artemisia, | |
| 6 | Arundo donax | Giant reed | |
| 7 | Avena spp. | Oat | |
| 8 | Beta vulgaris var. saccharifera | Sugar beet | |
| 9 | Betula spp. | Birch | |
| 10 | Brassica carinata | Ethiopian mustard | |
| 11 | Brassica napus | Rapeseed | |
| 12 | Calendula spp. | Calendula, marigold | |
| 13 | Camelina sativa | Camelina, false flax, gold of pleasure | |
| 14 | Camellia sinensis | Black tea, green tea | |
| 15 | Cannabis sativa | Hemp | |
| 16 | Capparis spinosa | Caper | |
| 17 | Carthamus spp. | Safflower | |
| 18 | Chorchorus spp. | Jute | |
| 19 | Cichorium intybus | Chicory | |
| 20 | Citrus spp. | Agrumes | |
| 21 | Chorcorus spp. | Juta | |
| 22 | Coriandrum sativum | Coriander | |
| 23 | Corylus avellana | Hazel nut | |
| 24 | Crambe abyssinica | Crambe | |
| 25 | Crotalaria juncea | Sunhemp | |
| 26 | Cuphea spp. | Cuphea | |
| 27 | Cynara cardunculus | Cardoon | |
| 28 | Cytisus spp. | Common broom | |
| 29 | Dactylis glomerata | Cock’s-foot, orchard grass, cat grass, | |
| 30 | Dimorphoteca pluvialis | White African daisy, Cape marigold, rain daisy | |
| 31 | Echinacea purpurea | Echinacea, coneflower | |
| 32 | Eucalyptus spp. | Eucalypt | |
| 33 | Euphorbia lagascae | Spurge | |
| 34 | Festuca arundinacea | Tall fescue | |
| 35 | Glycine max | Soybean | |
| 36 | Helianthus annuus | Sunflower | |
| 37 | Helianthus salicifolius | Willowleaf sunflower, | |
| 38 | Helianthus tuberosus | Jerusalem artichoke | |
| 39 | Hibiscus cannabinus | Kenaf | |
| 40 | Hordeum spp. | Barley | |
| 41 | Humulus lupulos | Hop | |
| 42 | Indigofoera tinctoria | Indigo | |
| 43 | Jatropha curcas | Jatropha, physic nut, nettlespurge | |
| 44 | Juncus acutus | Spiny rush, sharp rush, sharp-pointed rush | |
| 45 | Larix spp. | Larch | |
| 46 | Lavandula spp. | Lavander | |
| 47 | Lesquerella (syn. Physaria) spp. | Bladder-pod | |
| 48 | Linum usitatissimum | Flax | |
| 49 | Luffa spp. | Loofah | |
| 50 | Lunaria annua | Honesty | |
| 51 | Lupinus mutabilis | Tarwi, chocho, altramuz, Andean lupin, South American lupin, Peruvian field lupin, pearl lupin | |
| 52 | Manihot esculenta | Cassava | |
| 53 | Medicago sativa | Alfalfa | |
| 54 | Melaleuca alternifolia | Paperbarks, honey myrtles, tea tree | |
| 55 | Mentha spp. | Peppermint | |
| 56 | Miscanthus x giganteus | Miscanthus, silvergrass | |
| 57 | Musa spp. | Banana | |
| 58 | Myrtus spp. | Myrtle | |
| 59 | Nicotiana spp. | Tobacco | |
| 60 | Ocimum basilicum | Basil | |
| 61 | Olea europae | Olive tree | |
| 62 | Pachyrhizus ahipa | Ahipa, Andean yam bean | |
| 63 | Panicum miliaceum | Millet | |
| 64 | Panicum virgatum | Switchgrass | |
| 65 | Parthenium argentatum | Guayule | |
| 66 | Phalaris spp. | Reed canary grass | |
| 67 | Phragmites australis | Common reed | |
| 68 | Physaria (syn. Lesquerella) spp. | Bladder-pod | |
| 69 | Picea spp. | Red spruce | |
| 70 | Pinus spp. | Pine | |
| 71 | Plantago spp. | Plantains, fleaworts | |
| 72 | Populus spp. | Poplar | |
| 73 | Ricinus communis | Castor | |
| 74 | Robinia pseudoacacia | Robinia, black locust, false acacia | |
| 75 | Rosmarinus officinalis | Rosemary | |
| 76 | Saccharum spp. | Sugar cane | |
| 77 | Salix spp. | Willow | |
| 78 | Salvia spp. | Sage | |
| 79 | Secale spp. | Rye | |
| 80 | Sida hermaphrodita | Sida | |
| 81 | Solanum lycopersicum | Tomato | |
| 82 | Solanum tuberosum | Potato | |
| 83 | Sorghum bicolor | Fibre sorghum, sweet sorghum | |
| 84 | Taraxacum kok-sachyz | Russian dendelion | |
| 85 | Thymus spp. | Thyme | |
| 86 | Trifolium pratense | Red clover | |
| 87 | Triticum spp. | Wheat | |
| 88 | Typha spp. | Cattail | |
| 89 | Urtica dioica | Nettle | |
| 90 | x triticosecale | Triticale | |
| 91 | Yucca filamentosa | Yucca | |
| 92 | Zea mays | Maize | |
| 93 | Zingiber officinale | Ginger |
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