The Galapagos Islands are renowned for an amazing flora and fauna. Here’s a zoom in on Galapagos Islands fruits and how the environment has made them unique.
While most people are aware of the awsome landscape and wildlife. Most are pleasantly surprised when they experience the same variety in food, especially fruits.
Galapagos Islands Fruits: Guayaba
Plants of this region are truly exotic amd most are native to the archipelago and found nowhere else on earth. You catch a sight of flowering and fruit bearing trees and plants living in complete harmony with cacti. Which are also flowering and fruit bearing in some instances.
Therefore, if you are a lover of fruits and want to taste the exotic. Which you will not get else where Galapagos Islands is the best place to visit.
His archipelago boasts of special varieties of tomatoes, peppers, guavas and other fruits. In addition to the edible ones that are mentioned, there are other fruits. Which are not meant for human consumption but are usually devoured by the animals and wildlife present in the area.
Here, we will talk about those rare species of fruits that are edible for humans. Apart from giving you some useful insight into the treats that are in store for you when you decide to visit these islands:
Galapagos Islands Fruits: Tomatoes
Tomatoes:
One of the most interesting varieties of fruits that are available in the Galapagos Islands is the tomatoes. This is an endemic wild bush that is present only in this archipelago and is truly special because it crossbreeds and produces different kinds of hybrids that are unique to the region.
Present in small bushes that are usually 3 feet in height, these plants are usually found dotted with plenty of flowers and ruffled leaves. The fruit of these bushes are akin to cherry tomatoes and often ripen to look like an orange. The taste of these fruits is similar to the cherry tomatoes.
The beauty of this plant lies in the fact that the fruits mature very quickly and deal well with the high levels of sunshine and salt content in the water.
The fruits, apart from being really tasty, are rich in vitamins. Which make them a great addition to your daily food intake. As mentioned earlier, this wild variety can actually be crossbred with different varieties of tomatoes to get your perfect hybrid fruit.
This is largely because of the gene marker present in this wild variety. Which allows it to adopt the genes of other varieties and grow into something that is edible and better in terms of nutrition.
Peppers:
Another fruit variety that is endemic to this region is the pepper or Capsicum galapagoense. Which is a truly wonderful variety of the common pepper but is found only in this region. Although similar to other wild varieties of pepper, this bush is found only in Galapagos Islands Ecuador and is extremely rare in other places.
Grown as wild bushes throughout certain areas of the islands. This is a perennial plant that grows up to 1.5 meters in height. The leaves of this bush, despite being small, are aromatic while the flowers are white in color. The fruit is small in size, red in color, especially when mature, and extremely hot to taste.
The problem with this plant is that it needs extremely warm climate to thrive and therefore not all plants grow to maturity. It needs a lot of care and attention and is therefore usually grown by special growers, despite being found in the wild.
Galapagos Islands Fruits: Espino Bush
Espino Bush:
This is the third variety of exotic fruits that is found in these islands. Found primarily in the arid desert region of the Galapagos Islands, this is small and spiky in nature.
The bushes themselves grow up to 1.5 to 2 meters in height. However, the leaves of these bushes are extremely small and often curled inwards, making them almost invisible to sight.
The fruit borne by these bushes are small red or brown in color and are a favorite of the native finches that inhabit the islands. However, they can also be consumed by humans. The taste is slightly sour but unique.
Visit to the Galapagos Islands Ecuador will definitely tickle your taste buds. Both in terms of the Galapagos fruit that are available as well as the other foods that are made using these fruits. Therefore, make sure that you do not leave this archipelago without tasting these exotic fruits.