240 WILD FOOD PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES 



people may consider some of those treated in the present list 

 as worthless, and some common species which are omitted as 

 good. A list which included all the species that could be eaten 

 would be very much longer than the present one. Many of the 

 fruits are so small, so lacking in flavor, or of such poor flavor, 

 that they are practically never eaten, even by people in the 

 woods. It has not been considered worth while to include such 

 species. The number of species which are considered as edible 

 will depend to a considerable extent on the density of the popu- 

 lation and the amount of food available. Where the population 

 is dense and food is scarce, many inferior food plants are eaten. 

 The lists of edible plants from neighboring and more densely 

 populated countries include many which in the Philippines are 

 not considered as edible. 



The present list of wild Philippine food plants, although prob- 

 ably very far from complete, is much more nearly so than any 

 previous one. It is believed that it contains the better-known 

 species, and it is hoped that it may serve as a beginning on 

 which to build up a better list. 



