Description
Book SynopsisThe tropics are the source of many of our familiar fruits, vegetables, oils, and spice, as well as such commodities as rubber and wood. Moreover, other tropical fruits and vegetables are being introduced into our markets to offer variety to our diet. Now, as tropical forests are increasingly threatened, we face a double-fold crisis: not only...
Trade Review"This splendid book does much to remind us of the most significant legacy of the tropical rainforests. As repositories of germ plasm, sources of new crops and natural products, living laboratories where human ingenuity derives sustenance from the wild, these ancient forests serve not only the living but all the generations yet unborn. A vital book." -- Wade Davis, author of
The Serpent and the RainbowTable of Contents1. A Threatened Resource
Distribution and composition of tropical forests
Centers of diversity
Biodiversity, deforestation, and population growth
Driving forces
Crop gene pools2. Beverage and Confectionery Crops
Coffee
Cacao
Cupuafu3. Major Fruits of the Forest
Mango
Citrus
Pineapple
Avocado
Guava
Papaya
Sapodilla
Passionfruit4. Regional Fruits
Durian
Rambutan
Annonaceous fruits
African plum
Indian jujube5. Rubber, Oils, and Resins
Rubber
Oil palm
Balsams
Tropical pines6. Daily Bread
Bananas and plantains
Breadfruit
Peach palm
Sago palm7. Fuelwood, Fodder, and Woody Grasses
Leucaena
Bamboos8. Spices and Natural Food Colorants
Clove
Cinnamon and cassia
Vanilla
Annatto9. Nuts
Cashew
Brazil nut
Macadamia10. A New Cornucopia
The plant domestication process
A starting point for the search
Some crop candidates
Prospects for adoption11. Conservation Strategies
Ex situ conservation
In situ conservation12. Realizing the Potential
Conservation and sustainable development
Secure resource bases
Reaping the harvest
Research priorities for marginal lands
The quarantine bottleneck
Personnel requirements
Finding a way forwardAppendix 1. Domesticated Perennial Species with Wild Populations in Tropical Forests
Appendix 2. Abbreviations of Institutions Involved in Collecting, Maintaining, andlor Breeding Tropical Perennial
Crops
Appendix 3. Common Names and Distribution of Avocado's Relatives
Appendix 4. Avocado Accessions in Germplasm CollectionsReferences
Index
