Post by atash on Nov 13, 2011 15:53:51 GMT -5
The Andes mountains are relatively young geologically, though I did read an article claiming that parts of them are older than realized--about 25 million years old. Some parts date back 5-10 million years.
As a result of their relatively recent appearance, a lot of flora got isolated in Chile relatively recently. Chile's flora is not particularly rich compared to that of similar west-facing regions--the western Cape of South Africa has a much higher species density, and so does southwestern Australia. But it's very interesting because of all of the plants that got trapped by the Andes and had to adapt to novel conditions. It has a high rate of endemism (something like 3rd highest after Hawaii and New Zealand), unusual for a region connected to a continental landmass.
For a long time I was fairly ignorant of the local economically-useful flora. I knew about Coquitos (the seeds of Jubaea chilensis) and Gevuina avellana, the "Chilean Hazelnut" (it's not a hazelnut) aka "Hardy Macadamia" (it's only a little hardier than the Ozzie Macadamia), and a few tiny-fruited Guavas like Luma and Ugni molinae, but that was about it. Oh, I guess I realized that "Monkey Puzzle Trees" have fairly palatable "pine nuts" (not pines, but conifers; the nuts are actually far larger than those of a pine), but never took those too seriously because it takes a long time to grow one to seeding age plus you need both male and female trees.
I learned that Copihues--Lapageria rosea--have an edible fruit a few years ago. Have yet to see it because the darn things bloom in winter and it's hard to get them to set seed this far north.
Only very recently have I learned about Baldo (Puemus boldus)--the local equivalent of Bay Leaf, which also bears a palatable fruit.
Another new one to me is Empetrum rubrum. Has a bad reputation for being related to things that are harder to grow, and not as tasty. It's a low creeping plant with bright reddish berries, that will fruit at very high latitudes or altitudes. The Chilean version reputedly easier to grow and tastier than those of northern hemisphere.
I did not realize until recently that some Ephedras have palatable fruit. I did realize they were the source of ephedrine but some people dispute that!! (But then why do they call one species "Mormon Tea" if it were not drunk as a medicinal tonic?). Anyway, a very unusual family of plants from dry places in the southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico, high-dry regions in central Asia and Tibet, and in the dry Andean altiplano.
Unfortunately, someone has seen fit to merge Pernettya into Gaulthera. Gaulthera berries are generally edible if often pitchy. Pernettya berries reputedly fairly tasty--and highly psychotropic, reputedly causing delirium if eaten to excess (some claim high doses will cause permanent insanity, hence specific names like "Pernettya insana"). My guess is they are intoxicating enough to warrant caution, but not necessarily as bad as their reputation suggests.
Chile is also the home of the highly psychotropic Latua pubiflora. I have no intention of ingesting it--just looking at it.
Chile seems to be blessed with rather a lot of edible berries--all on the smallish side! Probably one reason that they were never domesticated or grown on a large scale. Smallish berries are not necessarily a bad thing insofar as it's better to have some small fruits that ripen reliably in maritime climates, than try to raise something with bigger fruit that is unsuitable for being disease-prone in humid climates, or has difficulty ripening. The trick would be to figure out which ones are worth some effort.
Any one of several native currents worth a shot. Some of them tolerably ornamental as well.
Greigia landbeckii might have edible fruit. Probably rather small. It grows in very sheltered habitats so might have difficulty tolerating exposure, especially in maritime climates that are a little colder than its native climate. Hardyish "pineapples".
Lardizabala biternata produces Zabalfruits (just about any edible fruit in that family is called a "Zabalfruit" for lack of better names) but I'm not sure they're worth growing. Probably mildly sweet and mealy, like most of them.
One of the more unusual fruits, that I have heard of being eaten, are those of Prumnopitys andina. They come from conifers!! Well, just like Yew berries--which are edible by the way but don't eat the seeds!! (everything on a yew is toxic except the red aril. The seed inside is toxic too though it may pass through the GI tract intact). I suggest caution with Andean Yew-berry-seeds but the fruit is probably fairly palatable. I've heard of them being referred to as "Andean Plums" or "Andean Plum-Pines". Must be grown from seed to have both male and female plants; individual clones useless by themselves.
Amazing how few berries from Chile are outright toxic--compared to other parts of the world. But are they at all tasty?! That's another question. Rhaphithamnus spinosus probably has edible fruit--unusual for the family (Verbenaceae)--but are they any good? Possibly one reason few have been tried on a large scale is they come from families with toxic relations.
Speaking of which, I have heard that Wineberries--Aristotelia--are toxic--but at least the berries are not. People want blueberries an açai berries for the anthrocyanin--here is a very rich source of anthrocyanin.
Ugni molinae has tolerably good fruit, exotic-tasting with a bit of a pitchy taste combined with strawberry. Reputedly Queen Victoria was fond of Chilean guava jelly. Chile has a number of members of Myrtaceae that are coldhardier than their relations in other parts of the world, and most or maybe more likely all of them have edible fruit. Smaller than tropical Guavas though; the fruit of Ugni molina is around the size of a petit pois.
One of those fruit-picking cups with forklike teeth on it--used in Sweden to pick Lingenberries--would be useful for harvesting these many small fruits. Otherwise it would be rather tedious.
Baldo (Peumus boldus) is used like a Bay-leaf Tree in southern South America. I think its only grown in Chile but is exported to neighboring countries and is widely-used. Reputedly quasi-medicinal and used as a GI disinfectant. The fruit is also sweet and edible; probably odd-tasting with its aromatic compounds. Reputedly hard to germinate; I'll try soaking in some water spiked with giberellic acid, then putting outdoors for a few months, then bringing into a warm spot. I could probably use far more seeds than I actually have, to have hope of germinating some. Need at least one boy and one girl to get fruit.
Chilean Hazelnuts/Hardy Macadamia nuts need a better common name. They're not hazelnuts; they're a member of Proteaceae. One of the relatively hardier species of that Gondwanic family, but beat by several others in Tasmania and Chile. Has huge gorgeous dissected leaves, modest creamy flowers. Might be fragrant; dunno. Hard to catch them; it is not particularly common here though I happen to have a few dozen seedlings.
Its claim to fame is being a source for a substitute for Macadamia nuts. How closely they resemble macadamia nuts I don't know. I do know it is practically impossible to get macadamia nuts here that are not extremely rancid. I also know that whereas Gevuina avellana is not ironclad hardy it does survive here with a little foliar burning when cold dry winds hit in winter. Macadamias unlikely to survive hard winters here; they're hardy to around -5C/23F.
Another claim to fame is their unusual oil composition.
Alstroemeria roots used to be eaten by the natives.
Part of the impetus for looking at that part of the world is that similar latitudes to where I am have similar climates. Native food plants in my part of the world quite few in number: Dewberries, Cat-tails, Camassias, Blue Elderberries, and a few others. The native currents are pitchy and the native Rubus mostly poor-quality fruit except maybe one or two obscure species. Many food plants from Europe poorly-suited to our soils, and fungal disease is a problem growing most familiar fruits.
Now that I've become more open-minded as regards potential edible crops, I wonder what else I might have overlooked.
As a result of their relatively recent appearance, a lot of flora got isolated in Chile relatively recently. Chile's flora is not particularly rich compared to that of similar west-facing regions--the western Cape of South Africa has a much higher species density, and so does southwestern Australia. But it's very interesting because of all of the plants that got trapped by the Andes and had to adapt to novel conditions. It has a high rate of endemism (something like 3rd highest after Hawaii and New Zealand), unusual for a region connected to a continental landmass.
For a long time I was fairly ignorant of the local economically-useful flora. I knew about Coquitos (the seeds of Jubaea chilensis) and Gevuina avellana, the "Chilean Hazelnut" (it's not a hazelnut) aka "Hardy Macadamia" (it's only a little hardier than the Ozzie Macadamia), and a few tiny-fruited Guavas like Luma and Ugni molinae, but that was about it. Oh, I guess I realized that "Monkey Puzzle Trees" have fairly palatable "pine nuts" (not pines, but conifers; the nuts are actually far larger than those of a pine), but never took those too seriously because it takes a long time to grow one to seeding age plus you need both male and female trees.
I learned that Copihues--Lapageria rosea--have an edible fruit a few years ago. Have yet to see it because the darn things bloom in winter and it's hard to get them to set seed this far north.
Only very recently have I learned about Baldo (Puemus boldus)--the local equivalent of Bay Leaf, which also bears a palatable fruit.
Another new one to me is Empetrum rubrum. Has a bad reputation for being related to things that are harder to grow, and not as tasty. It's a low creeping plant with bright reddish berries, that will fruit at very high latitudes or altitudes. The Chilean version reputedly easier to grow and tastier than those of northern hemisphere.
I did not realize until recently that some Ephedras have palatable fruit. I did realize they were the source of ephedrine but some people dispute that!! (But then why do they call one species "Mormon Tea" if it were not drunk as a medicinal tonic?). Anyway, a very unusual family of plants from dry places in the southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico, high-dry regions in central Asia and Tibet, and in the dry Andean altiplano.
Unfortunately, someone has seen fit to merge Pernettya into Gaulthera. Gaulthera berries are generally edible if often pitchy. Pernettya berries reputedly fairly tasty--and highly psychotropic, reputedly causing delirium if eaten to excess (some claim high doses will cause permanent insanity, hence specific names like "Pernettya insana"). My guess is they are intoxicating enough to warrant caution, but not necessarily as bad as their reputation suggests.
Chile is also the home of the highly psychotropic Latua pubiflora. I have no intention of ingesting it--just looking at it.
Chile seems to be blessed with rather a lot of edible berries--all on the smallish side! Probably one reason that they were never domesticated or grown on a large scale. Smallish berries are not necessarily a bad thing insofar as it's better to have some small fruits that ripen reliably in maritime climates, than try to raise something with bigger fruit that is unsuitable for being disease-prone in humid climates, or has difficulty ripening. The trick would be to figure out which ones are worth some effort.
Any one of several native currents worth a shot. Some of them tolerably ornamental as well.
Greigia landbeckii might have edible fruit. Probably rather small. It grows in very sheltered habitats so might have difficulty tolerating exposure, especially in maritime climates that are a little colder than its native climate. Hardyish "pineapples".
Lardizabala biternata produces Zabalfruits (just about any edible fruit in that family is called a "Zabalfruit" for lack of better names) but I'm not sure they're worth growing. Probably mildly sweet and mealy, like most of them.
One of the more unusual fruits, that I have heard of being eaten, are those of Prumnopitys andina. They come from conifers!! Well, just like Yew berries--which are edible by the way but don't eat the seeds!! (everything on a yew is toxic except the red aril. The seed inside is toxic too though it may pass through the GI tract intact). I suggest caution with Andean Yew-berry-seeds but the fruit is probably fairly palatable. I've heard of them being referred to as "Andean Plums" or "Andean Plum-Pines". Must be grown from seed to have both male and female plants; individual clones useless by themselves.
Amazing how few berries from Chile are outright toxic--compared to other parts of the world. But are they at all tasty?! That's another question. Rhaphithamnus spinosus probably has edible fruit--unusual for the family (Verbenaceae)--but are they any good? Possibly one reason few have been tried on a large scale is they come from families with toxic relations.
Speaking of which, I have heard that Wineberries--Aristotelia--are toxic--but at least the berries are not. People want blueberries an açai berries for the anthrocyanin--here is a very rich source of anthrocyanin.
Ugni molinae has tolerably good fruit, exotic-tasting with a bit of a pitchy taste combined with strawberry. Reputedly Queen Victoria was fond of Chilean guava jelly. Chile has a number of members of Myrtaceae that are coldhardier than their relations in other parts of the world, and most or maybe more likely all of them have edible fruit. Smaller than tropical Guavas though; the fruit of Ugni molina is around the size of a petit pois.
One of those fruit-picking cups with forklike teeth on it--used in Sweden to pick Lingenberries--would be useful for harvesting these many small fruits. Otherwise it would be rather tedious.
Baldo (Peumus boldus) is used like a Bay-leaf Tree in southern South America. I think its only grown in Chile but is exported to neighboring countries and is widely-used. Reputedly quasi-medicinal and used as a GI disinfectant. The fruit is also sweet and edible; probably odd-tasting with its aromatic compounds. Reputedly hard to germinate; I'll try soaking in some water spiked with giberellic acid, then putting outdoors for a few months, then bringing into a warm spot. I could probably use far more seeds than I actually have, to have hope of germinating some. Need at least one boy and one girl to get fruit.
Chilean Hazelnuts/Hardy Macadamia nuts need a better common name. They're not hazelnuts; they're a member of Proteaceae. One of the relatively hardier species of that Gondwanic family, but beat by several others in Tasmania and Chile. Has huge gorgeous dissected leaves, modest creamy flowers. Might be fragrant; dunno. Hard to catch them; it is not particularly common here though I happen to have a few dozen seedlings.
Its claim to fame is being a source for a substitute for Macadamia nuts. How closely they resemble macadamia nuts I don't know. I do know it is practically impossible to get macadamia nuts here that are not extremely rancid. I also know that whereas Gevuina avellana is not ironclad hardy it does survive here with a little foliar burning when cold dry winds hit in winter. Macadamias unlikely to survive hard winters here; they're hardy to around -5C/23F.
Another claim to fame is their unusual oil composition.
Alstroemeria roots used to be eaten by the natives.
Part of the impetus for looking at that part of the world is that similar latitudes to where I am have similar climates. Native food plants in my part of the world quite few in number: Dewberries, Cat-tails, Camassias, Blue Elderberries, and a few others. The native currents are pitchy and the native Rubus mostly poor-quality fruit except maybe one or two obscure species. Many food plants from Europe poorly-suited to our soils, and fungal disease is a problem growing most familiar fruits.
Now that I've become more open-minded as regards potential edible crops, I wonder what else I might have overlooked.
Thanks
