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Notes about Lulo (Solanum quitoense Lam.): an important South American underutilized plant

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Abstract

Solanum quitoense Lam. is an economically important member of the Solanaceae family, which originated in the Andes. It has been introduced to Central America, Europe, North America, and Africa. S. quitoense has two geographical variants; septentrionale (Solanum quitoense var. septentrionale) (R.E. Schultes & Cuatrec.) D’Arcy, which bears thorns, and (Solanum quitoense var. quitoense), which is thornless. Another morphological variant has been recognized bearing slight or remote spines from Chipaque, Cundinamarca, Colombia. Lulo cultivation and use as a food source dates back to pre-Hispanic times. Currently, several local indigenous groups in Ecuador and Colombia use Lulo as a food source.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to L. Marien for her help.

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  1. Independent Researcher, Bogotá, Colombia

    Fernando Ramírez

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  1. Fernando Ramírez
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FR had the idea for the article, performed the literature search, drafted and/or critically revised the work, wrote the manuscript, and took photographs.

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Correspondence to Fernando Ramírez.

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Ramírez, F. Notes about Lulo (Solanum quitoense Lam.): an important South American underutilized plant. Genet Resour Crop Evol 68, 93–100 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-020-01059-3

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