EDIBLE FRUITS OF SOLANUM 
IN COLOMBIA 
BY 
RicHarp Evans ScHULTES 
AND 
RAFAEL ROMERO-CASTANEDA!? 
One of the largest and most interesting plant families in 
tropical South America is the Solanaceae. The world has 
acquired from this continent a number of solanaceous 
economic plants of outstanding value, such as Lycoper- 
sicon esculentum Mill. (tomato); Cyphomandra betacea 
(Cav.) Sendt. (tree tomato); Nicotiana Tabacum L. 
(tobacco); Solanum tuberosum L. (potato); and sundry 
narcotics. There are, however, other species of lesser 
economic importance, grown locally, which have never 
been extensively adopted by peoples in other regions. 
This family, especially as it is represented in the Andes, 
merits much closer taxonomic and agronomic investiga- 
tion. It is well within the realm of probability that new 
food or drug plants will be found when such a concerted 
study is pursued. 
The genus Solanum contains some of the most poison- 
ous members of the family, yet a few of the species yield 
edible berries which are utilized by the local inhabitants 
as fruits or as the source of refreshing and_ probably 
Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Bogota, Colombia. The illustra- 
tions reproduced in this paper have been made possible through a 
grant from the National Science Foundation. 
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