Fruits · 10 speciesFruits of the Yungas
Ten fruits of the Tucumán forest: some we eat, others feed toucans, guans, parrots and rodents, and all of them help the forest plant itself.
Look and learn, do not pickThis page describes the fruits; it does not teach you to identify them in the field. Many plants look alike and some are toxic. Do not taste a wild fruit unless an expert has confirmed the species. In protected areas, collecting is not allowed either. Chal-chal
Allophylus edulis
A small, round drupe that ripens from yellowish red to bright red, holding a single whitish seed.
Who eats it Birds disperse its seeds; in a Buenos Aires study the Small-billed Elaenia ate the fruit and regurgitated the seeds one at a time.
On the table It is listed among the native fruits of the Argentine Food Code and has traditional use among Guaraní, Toba and Wichí peoples.
Fact Only in July 2025 was chal-chal officially added to the list of fruits in the Argentine Food Code.
Do not taste wild fruit unless a local expert has confirmed the species.
See the plate →Sources: boletinoficial.gob.ar, static.buenosaires.gob.ar, alice.cnptia.embrapa.br
Chilto (tree tomato)
Solanum betaceum
An egg-shaped berry about 6 cm long, yellow-orange with brown stripes, covered by a skin with a bitter cuticle.
When it ripens In Tucumán ripe fruit was collected between April and July.
On the table It is eaten fresh or made into jams, juices and liqueurs; the Argentine Food Code recognises it as a fresh fruit.
Fact In Tucumán most fruit is gathered from wild plants, and the NOA has four varieties that differ in colour and size.
The skin's cuticle is bitter and is removed before eating. Do not taste wild fruit unless a local expert has confirmed the species.
Sources: conicet.gov.ar, alimentosargentinos.magyp.gob.ar, argentina.gob.ar
Willow-leaved myrtle
Blepharocalyx salicifolius
A tiny round berry, 5 to 6 mm across, ripening dark purple, with one to four seeds.
Who eats it Birds such as the Great Kiskadee, Sayaca Tanager, Diademed Tanager and Rufous-bellied Thrush eat it, and in Brazil the tegu lizard too.
Fact In a captive-bird trial, tanagers discarded 38 to 48 percent of the seeds while feeding and defecated the rest.
See the plate →Sources: alice.cnptia.embrapa.br, elhornero.avesargentinas.org.ar, static.buenosaires.gob.ar
Argentine walnut
Juglans australis
A nut-bearing fruit with a green outer husk and a very hard inner shell that encloses the seed.
Who eats it Rodents eat its nuts, according to a field experiment with 3,120 nuts.
On the table Immature fruits are pickled whole and the mature nuts are eaten.
Fact Where many walnut trees fruit together rodents become satiated, so more nuts survive.
See the plate →Sources: ri.conicet.gov.ar, en.wikipedia.org, earth.com
Guabiyú
Myrcianthes pungens
A round berry about 1 cm across, ripening dark violet, with sweet pulp and one large seed.
Who eats it It is very attractive to medium and large birds, which disperse its seeds.
On the table It grows in Yungas and Paranaense forests and is eaten fresh or in jams, juices, ice cream and liqueurs.
Fact The IUCN assessed it as Endangered (EN) in 1998, and only in 2025 did it enter the Argentine Food Code fruit list.
Do not taste wild fruit unless a local expert has confirmed the species.
See the plate →Sources: en.wikipedia.org, rapaluruguay.org, boletinoficial.gob.ar
Mountain laurel
Ocotea porphyria
An egg-shaped berry, 13 to 18 mm long, with a single seed, sitting in a small cup.
Fact It grows between 800 and 2,500 m, and is most ecologically important between 1,300 and 1,500 m.
See the plate →Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Andean elder
Sambucus peruviana
A black berry about 1.2 cm across with 3 to 5 seeds, borne in flat clusters.
On the table The fruits are made into jams, drinks and wines.
Fact Its native range runs from Costa Rica and Panama along the Andes to northwestern Argentina.
Do not eat the fruit raw, or that of other elders, without expert advice. Do not taste wild fruit unless a local expert has confirmed the species.
See the plate →Sources: en.wikipedia.org, powo.science.kew.org
Ear pod tree
Enterolobium contortisiliquum
A black, flattened pod twisted like an ear that stays closed and holds oval seeds about 1 cm long.
Who eats it Larvae of a bruchid beetle (Merobruchus bicoloripes) eat the seeds inside the pod, according to a study in Jujuy and Salta.
When it ripens It fruits from January to April; dispersal starts in July and pods can stay on the tree for up to a year.
Fact In three NOA populations, 65 to 86 percent of seeds survived the beetle before being dispersed.
Fruits and bark contain tannins and saponins, so they should not be tasted.
See the plate →Sources: redalyc.org
Parlatore's podocarp
Podocarpus parlatorei
A pseudofruit with a swollen, fleshy, resinous base holding a round 5 to 6 mm seed with a fleshy outer coat.
Who eats it The Red-faced Guan and the Tucumán Amazon feed on its fruits and seeds.
Fact It is in CITES Appendix I, which bans its international trade.
See the plate →Sources: editorial.unca.edu.ar, digitalcommons.usf.edu, en.wikipedia.org
Blue passionflower
Passiflora caerulea
An egg-shaped berry about 6 by 4 cm, orange, with many seeds.
On the table It is edible, though blander than the fruit of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis).
Fact The name mburucuyá is Guaraní and is the origin of the word maracujá.
Do not taste wild fruit unless a local expert has confirmed the species.
Sources: es.hispanopedia.com, en.wikipedia.org
The facts come from published sources and a few are from other regions; each one says so. The plant list has not yet been reviewed by specialists. See useful and dangerous plants →