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IYARINA
Napo-Pastaza, Ecuador
CENTER FOR LEARNING ALLIANCE: Fundación Cotococha | Andes and Amazon Field School | Shayarina Amazonian Resilience
Piton as Food and Medicine

The cauliflorous fruit, eaten by humans, is also a favorite of the Amazonian red squirrel and other animals. The fruit (about twice the size of an avocado) has a firm orange meet around a large seed. Its nutty taste is reminiscent of squash or chonta duro. It can be eaten either raw or cooked. A tea made from the bark is used as a medicine for intestinal problems. In the following short video Eulodia Dagua, a pastaza Kichwa woman harvest piton in the wild and gives it to students and give it to students at the Andes and Amazon Field School Ethnobotany class. The students comment on the taste.
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