List of domesticated plants

Last updated

This map shows the sites of domestication for a number of crop plants. Places, where crops were initially domesticated, are called centers of origin. Feature2originmap600.png
This map shows the sites of domestication for a number of crop plants. Places, where crops were initially domesticated, are called centers of origin.

This is a list of plants that have been domesticated by humans. The list includes individual plant species identified by their common names as well as larger formal and informal botanical categories which include at least some domesticated individuals. Plants in this list are grouped by the original or primary purpose for which they were domesticated, and subsequently by botanical or culinary categories. Plants with more than one significant human use may be listed in multiple categories.

Contents

Plants are considered domesticated when their life cycle, behavior, or appearance has been significantly altered as a result of being under artificial selection by humans for multiple generations (see the main article on domestication for more information). Thousands of distinct plant species have been domesticated throughout human history. Not all modern domesticated plant varieties can be found growing in the wild; many are actually hybrids of two or more naturally occurring species and therefore have no wild counterpart.

Food and cooking

Fruit trees

Pomes

Citrus fruits

Nut trees

Other

Numerous other trees have been domesticated for their fruits. There are more than 100 known domesticated plant species native to the Amazon alone.

Cereals

Pseudocereals

Legumes

Sweet small-plant fruits

Aggregated drupelet "berries"

True berries

Other

Vegetables

Selective breeding enlarged desired traits of the wild mustard plant (Brassica oleracea) over hundreds of years, resulting in dozens of today's agricultural crops. Cabbage, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower were all products of this selective breeding, making them all the same plant. Wild Mustard Plant Selective Breeding.svg
Selective breeding enlarged desired traits of the wild mustard plant ( Brassica oleracea ) over hundreds of years, resulting in dozens of today's agricultural crops. Cabbage, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower were all products of this selective breeding, making them all the same plant.

Non-sweet small-plant fruits

Root vegetables

Herbs and spices

Oil-producing plants

Legumes grown principally for oil production:

Commodities

Plants grown principally as animal fodder or for soil enrichment:

Oil-producing plants (for fuel or lubrication):

Utility plants:

Psychoactive plants (for drugs or medicines):

Fiber plants (for textiles):

Medicinal plants

Ornamental plants

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Einkorn wheat</span> Primitive wheat

Einkorn wheat can refer either to a wild species of wheat (Triticum) or to its domesticated form. The wild form is T. boeoticum, and the domesticated form is T. monococcum. Einkorn is a diploid species of hulled wheat, with tough glumes ('husks') that tightly enclose the grains. The cultivated form is similar to the wild, except that the ear stays intact when ripe and the seeds are larger. The domestic form is known as "petit épeautre" in French, "Einkorn" in German, "einkorn" or "littlespelt" in English, "piccolo farro" in Italian and "escanda menor" in Spanish. The name refers to the fact that each spikelet contains only one grain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmer</span> Type of wheat

Emmer wheat or hulled wheat is a type of awned wheat. Emmer is a tetraploid. The domesticated types are Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccum and T. t. conv. durum. The wild plant is called T. t. subsp. dicoccoides. The principal difference between the wild and the domestic forms is that the ripened seed head of the wild plant shatters and scatters the seed onto the ground, while in the domesticated emmer, the seed head remains intact, thus making it easier for humans to harvest the grain.

<i>Cucurbita</i> Genus of herbaceous vines in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae

Cucurbita is a genus of herbaceous fruits in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five edible species are grown and consumed for their flesh and seeds. They are variously known as squash, pumpkin, or gourd, depending on species, variety, and local parlance. Other kinds of gourd, also called bottle-gourds, are native to Africa and belong to the genus Lagenaria, which is in the same family and subfamily as Cucurbita, but in a different tribe. These other gourds are used as utensils or vessels, and their young fruits are eaten much like those of the Cucurbita species.

<i>Cucurbita pepo</i> Species of flowering plant that yields varieties of squash and pumpkin

Cucurbita pepo is a cultivated plant of the genus Cucurbita. It yields varieties of winter squash and pumpkin, but the most widespread varieties belong to the subspecies Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo, called summer squash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Mesoamerica</span> Account of archaic North American agriculture

Agriculture in Mesoamerica dates to the Archaic period of Mesoamerican chronology. At the beginning of the Archaic period, the Early Hunters of the late Pleistocene era led nomadic lifestyles, relying on hunting and gathering for sustenance. However, the nomadic lifestyle that dominated the late Pleistocene and the early Archaic slowly transitioned into a more sedentary lifestyle as the hunter gatherer micro-bands in the region began to cultivate wild plants. The cultivation of these plants provided security to the Mesoamericans, allowing them to increase surplus of "starvation foods" near seasonal camps; this surplus could be utilized when hunting was bad, during times of drought, and when resources were low. The cultivation of plants could have been started purposefully, or by accident. The former could have been done by bringing a wild plant closer to a camp site, or to a frequented area, so it was easier access and collect. The latter could have happened as certain plant seeds were eaten and not fully digested, causing these plants to grow wherever human habitation would take them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durum</span> Species of wheat used for food

Durum wheat, also called pasta wheat or macaroni wheat, is a tetraploid species of wheat. It is the second most cultivated species of wheat after common wheat, although it represents only 5% to 8% of global wheat production. It was developed by artificial selection of the domesticated emmer wheat strains formerly grown in Central Europe and the Near East around 7000 BC, which developed a naked, free-threshing form. Like emmer, durum wheat is awned. It is the predominant wheat that grows in the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous cuisine of the Americas</span> Food and drink of peoples Indigenous to the Americas

Indigenous cuisine of the Americas includes all cuisines and food practices of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Contemporary Native peoples retain a varied culture of traditional foods, along with the addition of some post-contact foods that have become customary and even iconic of present-day Indigenous American social gatherings. Foods like cornbread, turkey, cranberry, blueberry, hominy, and mush have been adopted into the cuisine of the broader United States population from Native American cultures.

Domesticated plants of Mesoamerica, established by agricultural developments and practices over several thousand years of pre-Columbian history, include maize and capsicum. A list of Mesoamerican cultivars and staples:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxonomy of wheat</span> Classification of wheat

During 10,000 years of cultivation, numerous forms of wheat, many of them hybrids, have developed under a combination of artificial and natural selection. This diversity has led to much confusion in the naming of wheats. Genetic and morphological characteristics of wheat influence its classification; many common and botanical names of wheat are in current use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Agricultural Complex</span> Agricultural practices of pre-historic native cultures in the eastern United States and Canada

The Eastern Agricultural Complex in the woodlands of eastern North America was one of about 10 independent centers of plant domestication in the pre-historic world. Incipient agriculture dates back to about 5300 BCE. By about 1800 BCE the Native Americans of the woodlands were cultivating several species of food plants, thus beginning a transition from a hunter-gatherer economy to agriculture. After 200 BCE when maize from Mexico was introduced to the Eastern Woodlands, the Native Americans of the eastern United States and adjacent Canada slowly changed from growing local indigenous plants to a maize-based agricultural economy. The cultivation of local indigenous plants other than squash and sunflower declined and was eventually abandoned. The formerly domesticated plants returned to their wild forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triticeae</span> Tribe of grasses

Triticeae is a botanical tribe within the subfamily Pooideae of grasses that includes genera with many domesticated species. Major crop genera found in this tribe include wheat, barley, and rye; crops in other genera include some for human consumption, and others used for animal feed or rangeland protection. Among the world's cultivated species, this tribe has some of the most complex genetic histories. An example is bread wheat, which contains the genomes of three species with only one being a wheat Triticum species. Seed storage proteins in the Triticeae are implicated in various food allergies and intolerances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crop wild relative</span> Wild plant closely related to a domesticated plant

A crop wild relative (CWR) is a wild plant closely related to a domesticated plant. It may be a wild ancestor of the domesticated (cultivated) plant or another closely related taxon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baytown culture</span> Pre-Columbian Native American culture

The Baytown culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 300 to 700 CE in the lower Mississippi River Valley, consisting of sites in eastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, Louisiana, and western Mississippi. The Baytown Site on the White River in Monroe County, Arkansas is the type site for culture. It was a Baytown Period culture during the Late Woodland period. It was contemporaneous with the Coastal Troyville and Troyville cultures of Louisiana and Mississippi and the Fourche Maline culture and was succeeded by the Plum Bayou culture. Where the Baytown peoples built dispersed settlements, the Troyville people instead continued building major earthwork centers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grain</span> Edible dry seed

A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of Niger</span> Culinary traditions of Niger

The cuisine of Niger draws on traditional African cuisines. Various spices are used and meals include grilled meat, seasonal vegetables, salads, and various sauces. Meals in Niger usually start with colorful salads made from seasonal vegetables. Moringa leaves are a favorite for a salad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient grains</span> Small, hard, dry seeds used as food

Ancient grains is a marketing term used to describe a category of grains and pseudocereals that are purported to have been minimally changed by selective breeding over recent millennia, as opposed to more widespread cereals such as corn, rice and modern varieties of wheat, which are the product of thousands of years of selective breeding. Ancient grains are often marketed as being more nutritious than modern grains, though their health benefits over modern varieties have been disputed by some nutritionists.

The Future 50 Foods report, subtitled "50 foods for healthier people and a healthier planet", was published in February 2019 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Knorr. It identifies 50 plant-based foods that can increase dietary nutritional value and reduce environmental impacts of the food supply, promoting sustainable global food systems.

References

See also