Oilseed rape Canola Brassica napus subsp oleifera Brassicaceae
First documented in herbals of the 17th century, like its tuber-bearing relative the swede, oilseed rape was used mainly for lighting and lubricants. It has become a major commercial oilseed crop in many European countries, owing to heavy subsidies from the European Union. China and India are also significant producing areas. A significant boost to production, particularly in Canada, was given by the breeding of low erucic acid cultivars in the late 1960s. These are suitable for food use, for...
Mitsuba Japanese parsley Cryptotaenia japonica Apiaceae
This species is native to far eastern Russia, Japan, Korea, and China. It is cultivated in Japan, Korea, China, and occasionally Southeast Asia and North America as a culinary herb. The main parts used are the leaves, the green stems, and the highly-prized blanched white stems, which look similar to coriander but have a milder flavor. Mitsuba comes from two main varieties, kansai green and kanto whiter . In Japan, great care is taken in its cultivation and to techniques such as winter and...
Chaste tree Vitex agnuscastus Lamiaceae
This shrub is native to the Mediterranean and northwestern India. Dried fruits of Vitex agnus-castus seem to be one of the oldest phytomedicines, dating back to the beginning of European civilization. The Greek name of this plant, lygos pliable branch , hints at its usage in viticulture for staking vines and in livestock farming for pasture fences. The other Greek expression, agonos,meaning chaste and pure, distinguishes it as a feminine plant of goddesses like Hera, Demeter, and Artemis Diana...
Black salsify Spanish salsify Scorzonera hispanica Asteraceae 1
Black or Spanish salsify, Scorzonera hispanica, like salsify see following is grown predominantly for its roots but has edible leaves. It is native to central and southern Europe and was first used as a medicinal plant. Similar to salsify, it was probably first cultivated in Spain and Italy in the 16th century, appearing later in England. It is now cultivated in temperate and sub-tropical areas and at higher altitudes in the tropics. The leaves are consumed raw in salads or lightly steamed....
Mishmi Gold thread Coptis teeta Ranunculaceae
Coptis teeta is a Ayurvedic herb found in the eastern Himalayan regions, particularly the Mishmi hill range of Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India. The rhizome of the plant is a prized medicinal commodity and is used to treat gastrointestinal complaints WHO 1999 and malarial infections. However, the plant has been brought close to extinction by deforestation and overexploitation for its medicinal properties. Conservation schemes have recently been proposed and these may lead to the recovery of...
Carob Ceratonia siliqua Caesalpiniaceae
Carob bean is the fruit of an evergreen long-lived tree with hard woody leaves, which naturally grows on barren, rocky, and dry regions of the Mediterranean basin. It is said that the locusts that John the Baptist lived on in the wilderness were carob pods, as locust bean is another name for carob bean pods the carob tree is thus sometimes called St. John's bread. Archeobotanical discoveries in the Middle East show that carob existed in the Eastern Mediterranean basin long before the start of...
Babai swamp taro Cyrtosperma merkusii Araceae
The possible origin of babai is western Malesia or the Solomon Islands, but the exact location is not known. It is now distributed wild and cultivated from peninsular Malaysia, throughout most of Malesia to Oceania and is now a staple food on several Micronesian and Polynesian coral atolls. It is the dominant aroid crop in Micronesia, whereas in Polynesia and Melanesia, Colocasia esculenta is the major aroid crop. The species is cultivated on swampland, mainly by smallholders, for the starchy...
Fruit Wines Brandies and Liqueurs
Brandies are usually distilled wines, but can also be distilled from cider. The most famous wine brandies are those from Armagnac and Cognac in France. The exquisite flavors of those brandies are due to the wines from which they are distilled and the fact that they are carefully matured for many years after distillation. Many distilled wines are labeled as brandies with a qualifying adjective indicating the kind of fruit from which they were distilled. Some, such as kirsch cherry brandy , have...
Agarwood Eaglewood Gharuwood Aquilaria malaccensis Thymelaeaceae
This is the most important of a group of several species of trees from Malaysia and western China that produce oil similar to sandalwood oil, with the strongest oils coming from fungally infected heartwood. Agarwood has been used for thousands of years, especially for incense in eastern religious customs, and the high-grade wood is very valuable. Agarwood is mentioned in Tamil texts from the third century ad, in which a reference to an actress drying her hair over the smoke of agar-wood can be...
Winter cherry Withania somnifera Solanaceae
Winter cherry, also known as Indian ginseng, has similar alleged rejuvenating properties to that of ginseng in Chinese medicine. The plant is endemic to India, particularly in the sub-Himalayan 1000 m tracts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and the drier parts of India. Its use can be traced back to Assyrian sources, and the drug was already used in Mesopotamia as a narcotic. Ancient sacred writings of Hinduism from India praise the plant as a wonder drug, and it was used as a charm and as an...
Tobacco Nicotiana spp Solanaceae
With the exception of Australia which has its own indigenous Nicotiana that was chewed by Aborigines , the world ultimately owes its supplies of tobacco to the Americas. The cultural history of tobacco use begins in the remote prehistory of South America. According to current understanding, the lowlands of Patagonia, the Pampas, and Gran Chaco are the probable home of the tobacco plant. The early history of tobacco in South America is obscure, as few, if any, definite archaeological finds have...
Hackberry Nettle tree Celtis spp Ulmaceae
Fruits of several species of Celtis have been eaten by man for many centuries. A thin, sweet flesh surrounds the large stone. Stones of C. tournefortii have been found in large quantities in many Neolithic archaeological excavations in the Near East and probably formed a significant part of the prehistoric diet. They are still gathered from the wild and consumed as a snack in central Anatolia. Celtis australis is found in the south of Europe, whereas Celtis occidentalis is native to the United...
Mescal bean Sophora secundiflora Fabaceae
Mescal beans are the psychotropic seeds of Sophora secundiflora and are not associated with the peyote cactus that is also sometimes known as mescal see following discussion . This small tree or evergreen shrub is native to Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. The pods contain up to eight seeds, which are maroon or orange-red in color. The principal alkaloids contained in the seeds are cytisine, N-methylcytisine, and sparteine. Despite the use of mescal beans in Native American vision quests, none of...
White willow Salix alba and Salix spp Salicaceae
The genus Salix includes numerous trees and shrubs common in alpine ecosystems and along the margins of streams. The white willow, Salix alba, is a tree that commonly grows in areas periodically flooded along streams and lakes. Willow bark known to pharmacists as Salicis cortex is a European phytomedicine with a long tradition of use for treatment of chronic pain, rheumatoid diseases, fever, and headache, and one of its main compounds, salicine, served as a lead substance for aspirin...
Palm hearts Cocos nucifera Bactris gasipaes Sabal palmetto Arecaceae
Palm hearts, also known as palm cabbage, are the edible young apical shoots of palms. There are more than 2,500 palm species broadly distributed over the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world, and many of these are exploited locally or are in international trade for their source of hearts. In many cases, particularly in single-stemmed species, the palm is destroyed once the palm heart is removed, as the heart is the apical growing bud. Other species are multi-stemmed, so the apical...
Ice plant Mesembryanthemum crystallinum Aizoaceae 1
This species is a native of southern Africa and was introduced to Europe and North America in the 18th century as a substitute for spinach, though it was never successful as a popular vegetable. It is cultivated in central Europe, the Mediterranean, and India as a potherb and a vegetable, cooked and eaten in a similar way to spinach. These plants have been noted to be so effective in deterring fire in South Africa that nurseries in South Africa have been promoting the use of ice plants in...
Indian pennywort Centella asiatica Apiaceae
Indian pennywort is a creeping herbaceous plant that prefers a moist habitat and is found near reservoirs and streams. This pantropical species is commonly found in India and throughout Sri Lanka, Madagascar, China, South Africa, the southeastern United States, Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia. It is possible that Centella asiatica is identical with the medicinal plant called manduk-pani in the Sanskrit text of Susruta ca. 1200 bc , and today it is used not only in Ayurvedic medicine, but in a...
Saffron Crocus sativus Iridaceae
Saffron, from dried stigmas of Crocus sativus, is the world's most expensive spice. It takes seventy thousand flowers to produce about half a kilogram of saffron. Its name comes from the Arabic zafaran yellow and saffron was the Mediterranean equivalent of the Asian turmeric. In Classical times, saffron was strewed on floors as a perfume and figured in Roman trade with India. By 960 ad, the Arabs were cultivating saffron in Spain, while the Crusaders probably introduced it to northern Europe....
Tannia New cocoyam Xanthosoma sagittifolium Araceae
Tannia is native to tropical South America and the Caribbean. It was cultivated for its edible corms in the Greater Antilles before Columbus arrived. During the slave-trading era, it was taken to Africa where it became the new cocoyam. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it spread throughout Oceania and into Asia. It is widely cultivated throughout the tropics for its edible corms, which are dried, peeled, and ground into flour, or are boiled, baked, steamed, or fried for a variety of dishes....
Wormwort Epazote Chenopodium ambrosioides Chenopodiaceae
The wormwort or wormseed is also known under its alternative Latin name, Teloxys ambrosioides, or its Aztec name, epazotl modern mexican Spanish epazote . It is another species with a long tradition of uses. Fascinatingly, it is used both as a spice for a variety of dishes, especially ones with Mexican black beans frijoles , and as a medicine for gastrointestinal parasites. The name seems to be derived from the Nahua term for skunk, epatl, and relates to the rather unpleasant smell of the plant...
Wild fennel Foeniculum vulgare subsp piperitum Apiaceae
Although today the cultivated edible form of fennel characterized by its broad white, sweet leaf stalks and bulb is widely grown, collecting wild fennel to eat is an important activity in many Mediterranean areas. Young shoots of wild fennel are the main ingredient of the well-known Sicilian dish pasta con le sarde noodles with fresh sardines , and fennel seeds are collected during the fall and used to flavor homemade sausages. See Herbs and Vegetables, p. 103 Plants as Medicines, p. 214...
Quinoa Chenopodium quinoa Chenopodiaceae
Quinoa bears very small lens-shaped, black seeds in dense terminal clusters. It was taken into domestication in the high Andes of South America, probably from wild C. hircinum plants in southern Peru or Bolivia. Unlike another crop of the high Andes, the potato, quinoa has not spread far from its area of origin. Domesticated quinoa has been found at sites in the region dating to 4000 14C years ago, and is still an important staple food. It grows at altitudes up to 13,000 feet 4000 m that are...
Bracken fern Pteridium aquilinum Dennstaedtiaceae
In the past in many parts of the world, the rhizome was ground and added to flour to bake bread. In the Canary Isles La Palma and La Gomera up to the 1930s the rhizomes were ground and mixed with barley meal to prepare a kind of porridge called gofio. It is the young shoots of the plant that are important in Japanese and Korean cooking the shoots are soaked for a day in water and ashes an archaic detoxification method , then steamed or boiled and eaten as a vegetable or in soups. Sometimes the...
Horseradish Armoracia rusticana Brassicaceae
Horseradish is probably indigenous to the east and southeastern Europe, where it has been cultivated since antiquity, and spread to other parts of Europe in medieval times. Today, it is cultivated in many places within the temperate zones of the Old and New World, mainly in Europe and North America. Although it is cultivated on a larger scale in Europe, North America, and South Africa, it is mostly grown by smallholders and in home gardens for both culinary and medicinal uses. The roots, when...
Europe
Allen, D.E. and Hatfield, G. 2004. Medicinal plants in folk tradition an ethnobotany of Britain and Ireland. Portland, Or. Timber Press. Bundesinstitut f r Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte. 1994. Hippocastani semen Bundesanzeiger 71. Bonn Bundesanzeiger Verlagsgesellschaft. Monograph, 15.04.1994. Bork, P., et al. 1999. Hypericin as a non-anti-oxidant inhibitor of NF-kB. Planta Medica 65, 297-300. Chrubasik S., et al. 2000. Treatment of low back pain exacerbations with willow bark extract A...
Oca Oxalis tuberosa Oxalidaceae
This species is an important tuber crop of the Andes, second in production to the potato. Although the closest wild relatives exist in Peru and Bolivia, the wild ancestor is unknown. This and other Oxalis species were introduced to Europe in the 1830s as a rival to the potato, but never became popular. Oca has been successfully introduced to Mexico and New Zealand where the tubers are marketed as New Zealand yam. Many different cultivated types are recognized which are highly diverse in size...
Carambola Star fruit Averrhoa carambola Oxalidaceae
The origin of the carambola is Southeast Asia, but precisely where and when is not yet clear. The common name originated in Malabar, western India, where it was an early introduction since it also has a Sanskrit name karmara Donadio et al. 2001 . The tree is naturally prolific, and produces fruits that are five-pointed or star-shaped in cross section, with yellow to orange rind and mildly perfumed pulp. These characteristics have transformed it into one of the Southeast Asian fruits that is...
Pepper tree Pink pepper Schinus terebinthifolius Anacardiaceae
Pink peppercorns are unrelated to black peppercorns Piper nigrum . They are the fruits of the wild Brazilian pepper tree. Since the nineteenth century the pepper tree has become an invasive weed in sub-tropical areas such as Florida and Hawaii. The fruits are an important export crop from the Indian Ocean island of La R union. They became a popular spice in the 1980s, closely associated with the nouvelle cuisine movement, and are also used in Five Pepper blends. Pink peppercorns can have an...
Alcoholic Beverages and Beverage Flavorings
Bahre, C.J., and Bradbury, D.E. 1980. Manufacture of mescal in Sonora, Mexico. Economic Botany 34, 391-400. Beadle, J. 1980. The ancestry of corn. Scientific American 242, 112-119. Behre, K.E. 1999. The history of beer additives in Europe A review. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 8, 35-48. Board on Science and Technology for International Development BOSTID National Research Council. 1996. Lost Crops of Africa Volume 1 Grains. Washington, D.C. National Academy Press. Boulton, N., and...
Scotch marigold Calendula officinalis Asteraceae
Scotch or pot marigold is used pharmaceutically, for example, to treat chilblains, chronic wounds including ones which heal very slowly , and other inflammatory conditions of the skin. In some rural regions of Europe e.g., Switzerland and the German Black Forest the species is still widely used externally as a veterinary anti-inflammatory remedy. Normally the flower heads are mixed with lard or another animal fat, heated for a short period in order to extract the active lipophilic constituents,...
Ginkgo nut Ginkgo biloba Ginkgoaceae
The sole survivor of a group of primitive trees that were dominant in the northern hemisphere 125 million years ago, Ginkgo biloba is native to northern China. It has been valued in both China and Japan as a sacred tree, cultivated around Buddhist temples since about 1000 ad, and used for food, medicine, and ritual. After removing the putrid-smelling flesh, the cooked kernels of the female tree are enjoyed as a delicacy, often consumed with bird's-nest soup. The nut has also been used to make a...
Ginkgo Ginkgo biloba Ginkgoaceae
The name ginkgo is thought to come from the Chinese word sankyo or yin-kuo, meaning hill apricot or silver fruit. This refers to the seeds, produced by female trees, which resemble apricots, but have a smell like rotting flesh or rancid butter due to their content of butanoic and hexanoic acid . Ginkgo biloba was originally found in China and Japan, where it was cultivated as a temple tree. Fossilized leaf material from the Permian is remarkably similar to the modern Ginkgo biloba. Ginkgo had...
Water lily Nymphaea spp Nymphaeaceae 1
In Europe the water lily was known by a number of names, including the water rose, Clavis Veneris, and Digitus apothecaries knew it as Nenuphar and claimed it to have effects similar to but weaker than those of opium. Its oils and decoctions were used as soporifics and anaphrodisiacs. Water lilies were occasionally used in the psychoactive ointments made by witches. Maya art depicts the water lily in conjunction with two other psychoactive substances the toad and the mushroom , and ancient...
Quinine tree Cinchona spp Rubiaceae
Cinchona, the quinine tree, raises a series of fascinating questions about indigenous plant use and drug development. It is uncertain whether species of this genus were used pharmaceutically by the native populations of tropical South America prior to or during the 17th century. According to Schneider 1974 and Tschirsch 1910 , the bark of this species was not used medically to a great extent, and it was known to specialists as a remedy in the treatment of fever malaria only in a very limited...
Safflower Carthamus tinctorius Asteraceae
The cultivated safflower originated in the Fertile Crescent the arc around the Mesopotamian lowland from the southern Levant to the southern foothills of the Zagros Mountains . Possible archaeological finds of the domesticated form date to about 2500 bc. It was used in ancient Egypt as a yellow dye from the flowers and oilseed from about 1600 bc. Subsequently it became very widely used for these purposes throughout the subtropics. It was developed as an oil crop in Egypt and India at least 2000...
Salsify Tragopogon porrifolius Asteraceae
Salsify is native to the eastern Mediterranean region, and the roots were probably eaten in classical times. Cultivation for the roots began in Italy and France in the 16th century, and today it is grown commercially on a small scale in Russia, France, and Italy for its edible roots. Sometimes the plant is grown for its edible young shoot and leaves alone. They are tender enough to eat raw or are steamed and served with butter and a dash of vinegar. The flavor is subtle and it has been served...
Lotus seeds Nelumbo nucifera Nelumbonaceae
Nelumbo nucifera, the water lily, is native across Asia, from Iran through India, China, and Vietnam to Japan, Malaysia, and northeast Australia. It has been a sacred plant in both the Near and Far East for thousands of years. In Chinese cuisine it is traditionally the swollen rhizome that has been eaten, although the seeds also have a long history of use both uses date back 3000 years. They are either eaten raw when immature, or roasted and boiled when mature. They can also be Hickory nut...
Maize in beer Chicha Bourbon Zea mays Poaceae
The majority of uses of maize, a cultigen with a complex genetic history, are for food and industrial products. However, various traditional peoples in the Andes and Mexico continue to produce a beverage from the food form that is both nutritious and slightly alcoholic. Chicha, or maize beer, is produced by fermenting hydrolyzed cornstarch. Cornstarch cannot be directly fermented, and must first be enzymatically converted to sugar, which can be fermented. Central and South American Indians...
Pecan nut Carya illinoinensis Juglandaceae
The most important nut tree native to North America, this species has a huge range in the central southern region of the United States, extending south to eastern Mexico. The pecan was an important food for many Indian tribes and archaeological sites in this region are commonly associated with pecan groves. However, plantings outside its native habitat, in the Pecan Belt of the South west of the Mississippi and east to Georgia and neighboring states are all of post-Columbian times. By 1850,...
Winter cress Barbarea verna Brassicaceae
This species is native to west and southwest Europe, but it has been introduced elsewhere and has naturalized in Africa, America, and Asia. It has been cultivated as a vegetable in west Europe, mainly in France, England, more seldom in central Europe or North America. Although its cultivation is not widespread, in former times the cultivation occurred mainly in the center of France, but today it is also popular in Belgium. It is also cultivated to a small extent in Malaysia. The leaves are used...
Chickweed Stellaria media Caryophyllaceae
Chickweed, so called because poultry like it, is a plant native to Europe although it now grows wild throughout the temperate regions of the world. It is principally regarded as a medicinal plant, but is likely to have also been used since ancient times as a potherb and vegetable on account of its ability to grow throughout winter months and is hence a good winter or famine vegetable. The classical Greeks and Romans sometimes cultivated chickweed, and it was also popular in ancient Japan. Today...
Agave Pulque Mescal Tequila Agave spp Agavaceae
Various species of Agave, short-stemmed succulents with a fleshy leaf-base and trunk, have been used as the source of pulque, or agave beer, made from the fermented sap. This beverage is the national drink of Mexico. The beverages mescal and tequila, distillates of fermented pulque developed in Mexico, have been produced only since the Spanish introduced the practice of distillation. Modern operations use cooked stem hearts, crushing them with water to make a mash, which is then fermented. Like...
Potato Solanum tuberosum Solanaceae
Potato is one of the most important food crops of the world, following wheat, corn, and rice, and is cultivated in over 150 countries, mainly in the northern hemisphere. Major producers include Russia, China, Poland, Germany, and India. The most widely grown cultivated species is the Irish or European potato S. tuberosum although several other species including bitter potatoes, see above are grown in highland South America. International trade except in seed tubers is negligible as the crop is...
Thaumatin Thaumatococcus daniellii Marantaceae
The thaumatins are a class of intensely sweet proteins 1,600 times as sweet as sucrose isolated from the aril of the fruit of the tropical west African species Thaumatococcus daniellii. Thaumatin is approved for use in many countries, and it serves both as a flavor enhancer and a high-intensity sweetener. The supply of naturally occurring thaumatin is limited, which has prompted extensive research into its synthesis via transgenic organisms. The gene encoding thaumatin has been introduced into...
Jackfruit Jakfruit Artocarpus heterophyllus Moraceae
The largest of the cultivated fruits, the jackfruit originated in the rain forests of the Western Ghats, India, from whence it was distributed in cultivation throughout India and into Southeast Asia Soe-padmo 1992, 86-91 . Like the breadnut A. altilis , the jackfruit offers both seeds and edible pulp, Jackfruit Artocarpus heterophyllus . Copyright Dave Webb, used with permission. the latter generally strongly flavored and scented in the soft juicy types, and less strongly flavored and scented...
Jews mallow Jute Corchorus olitorius Tiliaceae
Best known as a fiber plant, jute is also an important leafy green. Pliny recorded that the aerial parts of this species were frequently gathered and eaten by the ancient Egyptians. Possibly originating in tropical Asia, and grown by the Jews in the Near East hence the name , the plant grows in many tropical areas. Gathered from the wild in eastern Africa and India, the species has been domesticated in Mauritius, Jamaica, and even in France, where its tender leaves are used in cooking. See...
Daun salam Indonesian bay leaf Syzygium polyanthum Myrtaceae
This tree is native to Malaysia, Indonesia Java and Sumatra , and Thailand, and has edible flowers and fruits. The leaves are used as a flavoring and play an important part in Indonesian cuisine, where a single leaf placed in the cooking pan gives a subtle aromatic flavor to dishes. Its leaves can be used dried or powdered. It is used, for example, in nasi goring fried rice , and its role is generally compared to the curry leaf in Indian cuisine. Young leaves are also frequently cooked like...
Bergamot Beebalm Monarda didyma Lamiaceae
The bergamots are native to North America. The whole plant is pleasantly fragrant, and it is popular with bees on account of the quantity of nectar to be found in its blossom. It was used by the North American Indians and the early settlers as Oswego tea, which tastes like a scented China tea and is most refreshing when taken cold. The plant was brought to Europe and is cultivated as an ornamental garden plant. M. fistulosa, or wild bergamot, is used in herbal teas. Neither should be confused...
Caraway Carum carvi Apiaceae
Caraway is adapted to cooler climates than are such other umbelliferous spices as coriander, cumin, aniseed, or ammi. Wild caraway occurs from northern Europe and Siberia south to the Pyrenees, northern Italy, the Balkans, northern Iran, and the Himalayas. It is claimed by some that caraway has been cultivated and consumed in Europe longer than any other condiment, but there is, at least as yet, no long archaeological record to support this. The ancient Greeks used caraway, along with poppy...
Gallant soldier Guascas Galinsoga parviflora Asteraceae
This species is native to South America, particularly the Andean region and Colombia, and has naturalized into parts of North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia to become a cosmopolitan weed. In its native countries it is considered of culinary importance. The steamed young tops of the plant can be eaten as a vegetable. In Colombia it can be bought dried and ground into a green powder which adds a delicious flavor to soups and stews. It also makes good fodder for animals. See Gathering Food from...