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HISTORY
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Overview,
Origin and Distribution, Nature of Food Plants, Lower Plants as Sources of Food Fungi
Mushrooms Misc. Fungi Truffles Agar Algae Dulse Irish Moss Misc. Algae
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It is remarkable that
most food plants in use in the world today, as well as industrial plants, are
of great antiquity. Most of our food plants
were domesticated from wild ancestors long before the beginning of recorded
history. All available records
indicate that they were as familiar to the peoples of the ancient world as
they are to us. Comparatively few new
plants have been developed during the past 2,000 years, although the older
ones have been greatly altered and improved in response to increasing
complexity of the human existence. There have been many attempts to
determine the age of our food plants and their place of origin as well as
their cultural history. The classic
work dealing with this phase of botany is De Candolle’s “L’origine des
plantes cultiveés,” appearing in 1883.
This was a very careful piece of work of great accuracy. Only a few of his conclusions regarding
geographic distribution have had to be altered in light of more recent
studies. De Candolle based his
conclusions on a variety of evidence, such as the works of Dioscorides, Theophrastus
and other old historians; Chinese writings; archeological and ethnological
data such as the monuments in Egypt, the ruins in Pompeii and the remains of
Lake Dwellers of Europe and the Inca ruins of South America. He also learned from philological
indications involving the names of plants in Hebrew, Sanskrit and other
ancient languages. His botanical
conclusions were based on distribution, number of varieties, presence or
absence of wild types, length of cultivation and similar matters. He arranged the useful plants in six
classes. Hill (1952) gave a few
examples of each of these groups as follows: A. Old World Species Cultivated For Over
4,000 Years almond,
apple, apricot, banana, barley, broad beans, cabbage, cucumber, date,
eggplant, fig, flax, grape, hemp, mango, millet, mulberry, olive, onion, peach, pear,
quince, rice, sorghum, soybean, tea, turnip, watermelon, wheat B. Old World Species Cultivated For Over
2,000 Years and Perhaps Longer asparagus,
beet, breaffruit, carrot, celery, cherry, chestnut, cotton, garden pea,
pummulo, lemon, lettuce, lime, mustard, nutmeg, oats,
orange, pepper, plum, poppy, radish, rye, sugar cane, walnut, yam C. Old World Species Cultivated Probably For
Less Than 2,000 Years artichoke, buckwheat, coffee,
currant, endive, gooseberry, horseradish, muskmelon, okra, parsley, parsnip, raspberry, rhubarb,
strawberry D. New World Species of Ancient Cultivation,
More Than 2,000 Years [Also see ethnic.6] cacao, kidney bean, maize, maté,
sweet potato, tobacco4 E. New World Species Cultivated Before The
Time of Columbus avocado, cotton, guava, maize, sunchoke, peanut, pineapple,
potato, pumpkin, quinoa, red pepper, squash, tomato, vanilla F.
New World Species Cultivated Since The Time
of Columbus allspice, blackberry, black walnut, blueberry, cinchona,
cranberry, dewberry, gooseberry, pecan, persimmon, plum rubber, strawberry The above examples show that our
most valuable economic plants, including the cereals, most of the vegetables
and fruits, tea, coffee, cocoa and the fiber plants, were discovered,
utilized and cultivated by humans thousands and thousands of years ago. The Olmec of southern Mexico who most
certainly were involved with the development of large ears of maize, even
went to the extreme to emphasize their dependence on this crop. From infancy they forced the growth of human
heads to a shape resembling an ear of maize.
Satellite imagy and racial resemblance points to the Olmec origin from
West Africa in very ancient times. It has been difficult to
accurately determine the native homes of our cultivated plants. Obviously they must have been derived at
some time in the remote past from wild ancestors that originally had a
restricted distribution. In most
cases these wild forms no longer exist, or humans far from their original
home have transported them. Another important study, which
illuminates the points of origin of cultivated plants, is that of
Vavilov. It appeared in 1926. His conclusions were based on a variety of
facts obtained from different sources.
He considered such things as anatomy, genetics, cytology, distribution
and diseases of the plants concerned.
A valuable conclusion in Vavilov’s work is that many of our cultivated
species of first rank, the primary crops as he called the, had a diversified
rather than a single origin. In the
case of wheat, for example, Vavilov pointed out that there were at least two
distinct centers of distribution. The
soft wheats came from Southwestern Asia, while the hard wheats originated in
the Mediterranean region. Similarly
barley was derived from Southwestern Asia, North Africa and Southeastern
Asia. Regarding the so-called secondary
crop plants, Vavilov contended that these were originally weed companions of
the primary crops. These weeds could
not be eliminated and were either ignored or tolerated by the farmers. In regions that were favorable for the
primary crops the weeds were of little importance. However, in unfavorable areas the weeds tended to become more
and more prominent and gradually replaced the primary crop eventually to become
established as a cultivated crop. Rye
and oats are conspicuous examples of such plants. Finally Vavilov concluded that the
great centers of distribution of our cultivated crops were always in
mountainous regions, and that the greatest amount of diversity occurred in
such areas. He generally recognized
the four centers of distribution with the addition of a fifth area in
Abyssinia and adjacent parts of Northern Africa. He also suggested the possibility of a sixth center in the
Philippines where rice and coix may have originated. There appear to be four major
centers in the world from which our economic plants originated and from where
they were gradually dispersed. These
are (1) Central or Southwestern Asia and the mountainous region from India to
Asia Minor and Tran Caucasus; (2) the Mediterranean region; (3) Southeastern
Asia; and (4) the highlands of the Neotropics. From earliest times humans had at
their disposal various food plants on which they must have been dependent to
a great extent for their existence.
Early humans wandered from place to place being content to gather the
edible fruits, grains, seeds and tubers when they were needed and to possibly
to temporarily store them in small amounts.
Primitive attempts at cultivation gradually progressed to sowing seeds
in some favorable location. Whether
these first attempts at agriculture were accidental or purposeful, they were
of great importance for they changed the nature of human existence. Necessity caused humans to reduce their
nomadic existence and to remain in one place at least long enough to harvest
the crops. In this way the first step
was taken toward civilization because agriculture is the only mode of
existence that has enabled us to live together in communities and to
accumulate the necessities of life.
Agriculture was of the utmost importance and probably represents the
most significant single advance in the human development. Simple type of plant culture was
gradually replaced with greater sophistication that led finally to the
building of the great nations of antiquity.
These ancient civilizations were restricted in area for they developed
only in those regions where the useful plants were native. Therefore Asia Minor and adjacent areas in
Southwestern Asia, the Mediterranean region, Southeastern Asia and the
Neotropical American highlands were the locations of the older
civilizations. The presence of
valuable agricultural plants in all these regions was the most important
factor in the development of agriculture, although in all of these areas
climate and soil conditions also were very favorable. The climate was equable, with little
extremes of heat and cold; the soil was fertile; and there was either ample rainfall
or irrigation possible. In Central Asia the principal native agricultural plants
included alfalfa, apple, barley, broad bean, buckwheat, cherry, flax, garden
peas, garlic, hemp, lentil, mulberry, olive, onion, pomegranate, plum,
quince, radish, rye and spinach. The Mediterranean region had the
artichoke, asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, cotton, fig, horseradish, millet,
parsnip, parsley and rhubarb. Common
to both of these areas were the almond, carrot, carob, celery, chestnut,
grape, lettuce, mustard, turnip and walnut.
Wheat is also a native of some part of this combined region. Whether it was indigenous to Syria and
Palestine, to Turkestan or Mesopotamia, or perhaps had a multiple origin, it
was available throughout the region from very early times. In Southeastern Asia the banana, breadfruit, millet, peach,
persimmon, orange, rice, soybean, sugar cane and yam were native; in the
Neotropics cacao, American cotton, kidney and lima beans, maize, potato,
squash, tobacco and tomato were indigenous. Of interest is the presence of at least one cereal in all
of these four cultural areas. Ancient
agriculture was based principally on these cereals, as is true today. Their highly nutritious seeds were the
staff of life 5-10, 000 years ago, and have remained so to present
times. It was the cultivation of
wheat in the fertile valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that made
possible the great nations of Biblical time:
Chaldea, Babylonia and Assyria.
Egypt, Greece and Rome had both wheat and barley at hand. Rice was the basis of the restricted
civilization that developed in the valley of the Hwang Ho and Yangtze Kiang
rivers and led to the development of the Chinese empire. Maize was cultivated in the highlands of
the Neotropics. There is a great
similarity in the history of agriculture in all these areas. First the gathering the edible portions of
wild plants followed by the primitive cultivation of certain species best
adapted to the human need; and finally the evolution of a high-grade agriculture
that involved the breeding of new varieties, improvements inn cultivation,
irrigation and other aspects of agriculture.
This similarity between the Old and the New World has caused some
speculation that the American civilization must have had some contact with
those of the Old World and been influenced by them. However, the present opinion suggests that agriculture in
America has had an entirely separate development and that any resemblance
with Old World techniques is purely coincidental. The various materials that make up
the food of plants and animals are used either in the formation of the living
protoplasm, the building up of their bodily structure or as a source of
energy. Humans and other animals are
not able to manufacture their own food, as are plants. Therefore, they must obtain their food
readymade and so are dependent, either directly or indirectly, on
plants. Plants manufacture much more
food than they can utilize immediately and they store up this surplus as a
reserve supply for future use. It is
this supply of reserves that is used by animals. The essential foods produced by plants are carbohydrates, fats
and proteins, each being of value in its own way to animal metabolism. There are also mineral salts, organic
acids, vitamins and enzymes that are required for general health. It is thus possible for us to live
entirely on a vegetarian diet. Plants store food in various ways,
either in roots, stems, leaves, fruits or seeds. The most important of these for humans are fruits and
seeds. In this category are found the
cereals and small grains, the legumes and the nuts. All contain large amounts of nutritive material and have
proportionately low water content, which enhances their value for they can be
stored and transported with ease.
Roots, tubers, bulbs and other vegetables from the soil are next in
importance as sources of our food and the lower animals as well. Their value is less because they contain
much water. The leafy parts of
plants, the greens, salad plants and other herbage vegetables, contain
comparatively little stored food. But
they are necessary because of the vitamins and mineral salts they contain and
the mechanical effect of their indigestible cellulose. This is true also of the fleshy fruits
that may also contain various organic acids.
The following categories will be treated separately: cereals, small grains, legumes, nuts,
earth vegetables, herbage vegetables, fruit vegetables and fleshy fruits. There are hundreds of species of
plants, both wild and cultivated, that are used only by primitive peoples or
in restricted areas of the world.
Thus a detailed discussion will be on those food plants used by the
majority of peoples of the world. Mushrooms, truffles and other
fungi have been used as food in ancient times. Records exist from 500 B.C.
Mushrooms were well known to the Greeks and were items of delicacy by
the Romans. During the Middle Ages
the consumption of edible fungi soared.
Today they are consumed by both primitive and civilized cultures. Wild fungi are consumed everywhere and
cultivation is carried out in Europe, North America and the Orient. These occur naturally in woods,
fields and pastures. They are the
reproductive stage of certain of the higher fungi. The vegetative stage consists of masses of fine threads, or
hyphae, that constitute the mycelium.
The mycelium extends in all directions through the soil and derives
its nourishment saprophytically from decaying organic matter. Usually under favorable environmental
conditions the visible spore-bearing stage appears above the ground. There are many different kinds of
edible wild mushrooms. They are more
delicate in flavor and more palatable than the cultivated varieties. But great caution is required in
distinguishing edible mushrooms from poisonous ones, the latter being known
as toadstools. There is no definite
rule that would absolutely separate the two groups. Because of this it is
wise not to harvest any mushroom that resembles a poisonous form. The Boletaceae is a mushroom family of
pore fungi that have very few poisonous species and are relatively safe to
harvest. Their flavor is not as good
as the Agaricaceae, or gill fungi, but it can be greatly enhanced by
drying. The “boletes”
are very common in conifer forests. Cultivation
of Mushrooms In the 17th Century mushrooms
began to be cultivated. Although many
species have come under cultivation since, the common meadow
mushroom, Agaricus
campestris,
is the most common. Propagation can
be either by spores or mycelium, called spawn. It is essential to maintain an optimum environment during this
process. Little or no light, plenty
of moisture and a constant temperature of 55-58 deg. Fahrenheit
are optimum. The soil needs to be
rich in organic matter so bovine manure is an excellent medium. Environments in caves, cellars and tunnels
are perfect for growing mushrooms. The spores germinate or the
mycelium resumes its growth ramifying through the soil and in about six weeks
little buttons appear on the surface of the soil. These enlarge to form a chamber in which the gills
develop. The chamber is raised up on
a short fleshy stalk and finally opens out into the characteristic umbrella
shape pileus with the gills on the underside. Commercial mushrooms are usually gathered in the button stage
or before they are fully mature. The
mycelium continues to bear from 6-8 months. Mushrooms do not possess much food
value because nearly 91 percent of the flesh is water. Proteins make up about 3.75 percent,
carbohydrates 3.50 and fats only 0.20 percent. Truffles are great delicacies and
avidly sought after in the wild. They
differ from most other fungi by producing their fruiting bodies
underground. They are solid, with a
firm black or grayish-brown flesh and an agreeable odor and taste. Truffles are most common in England and on
the European Continent. The principal
commercial area is in southern France.
Truffles prefer a light, porous limestone soil in oak, beech or birch
forests. They are usually collected
in the wild state, although crude attempts at cultivations have been made. These involve mostly stimulating natural
production in favorable areas.
Harvest is with the aid of specially trained pigs or dogs whose keen
sense of smell enables them to locate the fungi. Truffles are collected when they are mature. Several main species that are utilized are
Tuber melanosoporum, T. aestivum
and T. brumale. The morel,
Morechella
esculenta,
is a not too common wild edible fungus in the United States, usually found in
maple forests. This species and
several related ones have been grown in France and elsewhere in Europe. In Japan there are several native species
cultivated, chiefly the shitake, Cartinellus edodes. This aromatic species is grown on logs and
can be stored for a long time in the dried state. By 1952 over one thousand tons were grown annually in
Japan. By 2003 there has been a great
increase in the culture of several species of mushroom in Europe and North
America as the demand increased. There have been only a few species
of algae utilized in Europe and America for food, as the demand has been
low. However, in Japan, China and the
Pacific Islands algae have constituted one of the main articles of diet. In Japan the demand is so great that many
species are cultivated. Sometimes
seven different kinds are served at a single meal. Over 70 varieties are consumed in Hawaii and a few of these are
cultivated. The nutritive value of
algae is high. There is a
carbohydrate content of about 50 percent, with small amounts of proteins and
fats. Additionally they are rich in
vitamins and also possess a greater variety of mineral salts than any other
foods. Three species that have been
of importance in the United States are Irish moss, dulse and agar. Chondrus crispus is a perennial alga
found from Maine to North Carolina.
The fresh plant is greenish purple in color with densely tufted fronds
from 2-10 in. in length. These are
narrow and cylindrical at the base but later become flattened and repeatedly
forked. Because Irish Moss is common
in New England a commercial effort was launched in eastern
Massachusetts. The plants are
gathered with iron rakes at ebb tide and are then spread out on the beach to
dry and bleach. Later they are soaked
in salt water and again bleached.
This process is repeated 4-5 times.
The final commercial product is yellowish white and has a hard, horny
consistency. Irish moss has high
mucilage content and is used chiefly in making farinas, blancmanges and other
deserts. The colloidal material, carrageenin, is extracted and purified. It is an excellent emulsifying and
suspending agent that is used in the baking and dairy industries and in an
array of other products ranging from hand lotions and tooth paste to beer. This species also grows on the Atlantic
Coast of Europe and is a favorite food in the west of Ireland. Dulse (Sea
Kale) Rhodymenia palmata, or sea
kale, is a red alga found on rocky shores of the North Atlantic. It is frequently dried and used for food. Agar is a favored food in China and Japan where it is
used in soups, sauces, jellies, etc.
In the United States and Europe it is used by bakers and in making ice
cream, candy, mayonnaise, cheese, jellies and other desserts. It has also been used in clarifying
liquors, canning fish and other industrial purposes. Several other species of algae
that are used in Iceland, Ireland and Scotland for food include the green
laver, Ulea
lactuca,
murline, Alaria
esculenta,
and pink lver, Porphyra
lacinata. - - - - - - - - - - - -
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