Germoplasma De Araceas Comestibles En Colombia

The Germoplasm Banks are collections of both native genetic material and foreign genetic material. They are useful for enhancing and improving the genetic source in order to obtain better hybrids and varieties. The edible aroids are a small but important group of plants. There are five genus: Alocasia, Amorphophallus, Colocasia, Cytosperma and Xanthosoma. The Xanthosoma has special importance because it is native of tropical America and it shows good yield, adaptation and resistance. Sixty two Xanthosoma clones, thirty six Colocasia clones and six Alocasia clones were collected in several Colombian regions. Due to its broad availability, adaptation and ample consumption, the Xanthosoma is the more important of the five genus. Among the fifty two Xanthosoma clones collected the more important are the white clone known as "Yautia", the violet clone known as "Mafafa" and a giant clone known as "Bore" which has an edible pseudo-stem. The Colocasia clones are very important for human consumption along the Colombian Pacific Coast, which presents a tropical weather with very heavy precipitation (7,500 mm/year). The Alocasia clones are important only as ornanental plants. Because in most of the aroids clones there exists a high genetic erosion caused by human, it is urgent to rescue the germoplasmatic material by more extensive exploration. At the same time, it is necessary to better define the taxonomy of the Colombian clones. Six clones have not been identified.