Nutritional Value of the Aril of Trichilia cuneata, a Bird-Dispersed Fruit

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Abstract
Fruits of T. cuneata (Meliaceae), a common tree in drier forests of Central America, are eaten by a number of birds. The fruits are 10-12 mm in diameter, covered by a yellowish-brown, capsular exocarp, and contain 3-6 seeds distributed among 6 locules. Each seed is covered by an orangish-red aril that averages 59.7% lipid and 15.1% protein, which makes this species one of the most nutritious known. The fleshy tissue of only 15 of 59 other species for which we found data contained at least 10% protein (dry wt). Only 9 spp. of 57 had fleshy tissue containing more than 40% lipid (dry wt). Between 1971 and 1972, weights of whole fruits decreased by 36%, perhaps in response to a severe drought in the area. The decrease was not equally distributed among component tissues of the fruit. Exocarp decreased by 36%, aril by 4%, and seeds by 62%. The reduction in weight per seed was not so dramatic, for 2 reasons. The number of seeds per fruit decreased by 26%. Many seeds did not develop. The decrease in weight per normally developed seed was only 18%. The fruit of T. cuneata was attractive to both specialized (4 spp.) and opportunistic (11 spp.) frugivorous birds and is intermediate (a generalist) in several dispersal-related characteristics.

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