Wild edible fruits of Colombia: Diversity and use prospects

Abstract

Wild fruits have been an integral part of the diet of rural inhabitants in tropical America. In Colombia, information on the use of wild fruits appears scattered in the ethnobotanical literature and herbaria collections, limiting the design of conservation and use strategies. This review aims to synthesize information about the wild fruit species used in Colombia. We reviewed herbarium collections and literature references. We recorded 703 species in 76 families, among which Fabaceae (66 species), Arecaceae (58), and Passifloraceae (44) were the most diverse. The genera with more species were Inga (42), Passiflora (42), and Pouteria (21). Most species are widely distributed in tropical America, and only 45 (6.4 %) are endemic to Colombia. The regions with the largest number of species were the Amazon (388), Andes (144), and Pacific (111). Most of the recorded species, 613 (87.2 %), are exclusively wild, whereas 90 (12.8 %) are wild or cultivated. Wild edible fruits have a high potential for agriculture, novel products and nutritional improvement; however, it is vital to create strategies to revalorize their use.