Ethnobotanical Garden of Andean Fruits

We are currently creating an Ethnobotanical Garden of Andean fruits to reflect the diversity of native fruits cultivated in Ecuadorian interandean dry valleys and:

• Investigate its propagation and cultivation in agroforestry systems.
• Promote its use in local markets and diets.
• Co-ordinate a system of household orchards to exchange information about cultivation, marketing and agroturism.
• Connect Andean people with their natural and cultural inheritance.
• Contruibute to The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.

It attempts to rescue plants, flavours and traditional uses that are being lost in modern times.

Some of the plant genus in which we are focussing are: Vasconcellea (mountain papayas; Caricaceae), Passiflora (passion fruits; Passifloraceae), Psidium (guavas; Myrtaceae), Inga (Fabaceae) .

Open full list of plants

We are continuously striving to increase our plant collection and ethnobotanical knowledge of fruit plants (see in projects).