Human food derived from Grasses (Poaceae) and Beans (Fabaceae or Fabales) is, for the most part, derived from complex meiotic/reproductive activity that usually involves other animals (pollen vectors). Our harvest of stems, leaves, and roots is, on the other hand, derived from meristematic activity within a given plant. As we have seen, the meristem forms the foundation for many unique and characteristic aspects of the plant kingdom. Primary meristems (apical, lateral) form the basic structure of shoot and root whereas secondary meristems (derived from primary meristems to function in 'mature' sections of the plant) allow elaboration. The latter include intercalary leaf meristems of the grasses, the vascular cambium of woody plants (secondary xylem, phloem, and bark [Q. suber]), and the pericycle of roots (substitute for lateral meristems to form secondary roots).

Human use of grass and bean taxa is focused on utilization of post-reproductive resources (endosperm/embryo) that the plants develop to support their next generation. Our use of foods derived from meristematic activity represents, in most cases, utilization of resources that the plants sequester for the reproductive effort (biennials).

Brassicaceae: - mustard family - pungent flavor produced by a class of compounds GLUCOSINOLATES (mustard oils) that are characteristic of this family and evidently produced as an insect deterrent.

Brassica oleracea 'cole' crops (caulis = stem) - diploid (2n=2x=18) wild type now grows across western Europe but selection probably started along the Mediterranean coast (Greek - as early as 650 B.C.) to Europe - intraspecific adaptive radiation under human selection:

 kale: var. acephala

probably the 1st type brought into cultivation - adapted to coastal habitats - salt spray - waxy layer that protected from salt damage still on modern cole crops - contributes to their resistance to drought and cold

cabbage: var. capitata

basal type - intermediate between kale and modern cabbage = Savoy cabbage (var. bullata) with looser, crumpled leaves. Modern types evidently developed in Germany around 1000 A.D. - suppression of nodal elongation - could be stored for some time - also shredded leaves could be preserved with salt in earthernware crocks over winter - SAUERKRAUT - a traditional folk defense against scurvy of the Dutch and English - anaerobic fermentation preserved vitamen C content of the cabbage. Captain Cook planted cabbage seeds in New Zealand on his 1^st voyage with the hope that a fresh supply would be their on his return (dispersal event)..

brussels sprouts: var. gemmifera

evidently selected from a single mutant plant in 1750 - central meristem elongates, lateral meristems show supression of nodal elongation

kohlrabi: var. gongyloides - origin uncertain - expansion of the basal stem

broccoli: var. botrytis - more recent than cabbages or kales - flower buds (fertile)

cauliflower: var. cauliflora - flower buds (sterile)

also 'root' crops (hypocotyl [beneath the cotyledons, where shoot and root meet] partially involved):

Turnip: - Brassica campestris - (2n=2x=20) - possibly originated in India and dispersed as a 'useful weed' to the East and West with subsequent selection to produce extant vegetable crops. European cultivation as a root crop (most important modern usage is as an oil crop [rapeseed]) dates to 13th century with expansion as both table vegetables and livestock fodder with development of new varieties, esp. 'stubble-turnip' that allowed development of a crop in harvested grain fields (usually Secale). Many important cultivars evolved in China, Japan, and Korea, including Chinese celery cabbage, and Chinese white cabbage (pak-choi), both recognizable in Chinese writings of the 5^th and 6^th century.

Rutabaga: - Brassica napas - (2n=4x=38, possibly oleracea x campestris)Pre-Cucurbita jack o' lantern of Europe- larger (heterosis), stronger tasting than turnip - possibly derived from hybridizatin between cabbages and turnips - cultivars also selected as an oil seed crop.

Radish: - Raphanus sativus - (2n=2x=18) possibly Asian in origin, known from 4k bp in Egypt - as all above, also used as an oilseed crop (China). Cultivars familiar to North Americans (red, spherical) are derived from white, elongaged forms (oriental Daikon)

ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE) - no common biochemical feature, like mustard oils, but a biologically coherent (monophyletic) group linked by a common inflorescence type (capitulum) and classified into groups of related genera - tribes - (subfamilies for beans and roses), tribes for grasses and composites - major variants within ASTERACEAE= inflorescence types:

    1. RADIATE ray (ligulate) flowers + disc- Helianthus annuus
    2. DISCOID - thistles - all disc flowers (thistles and relatives)
    3. LIGULATE - all ligulate - milky sap (often defined as a subfamily)

Lettuce - Lactuca sativa (Asteraceae) - Very early in Egypt (4500 B.C.) and the med basin - closely related wild species there - have native species of the genus here, as well as introduced types - including the possible progenitor - L. serriola. (native to Mediterranean sand dunes and rocky slopes - phytochrome dormancy)- wild types are caulescent - domesticated types are not - different forms (head, romaine) are cultivars of the species. Historical records start in Greece (450 BC), to Rome by the 1^st century AD with dispersal by Romans into northern Europe where it is well documented by the herbals. Spread eastward is less well defined, but known in Persia by 600 BC and China by 5^th and 6^th centuries AD. Your book discusses recent emergence (California) as a commercial crop via genetic reserves provided by wild taxa, including L. serriola.

Endives - Cichorium intybus and C. endiva - canned types in the US are produced from the perennial (intybus) whereas the salad green found in US supermarkets (greens) is taken from endiva. Root of Cichorium intybus is processed (roasted, ground) to produce 'chicory' for adding to or substituting for coffee.

Both Lactuca and Cichorium produce the ligulate type of inflorescence. The sunflower (Helianthus) produces the radiate inflorescence type, and Cynara produces the discoid type:

Globe Artichokes - Cynara scolymus - edible phyllaries and receptacle - hairy 'chaff' on the receptacle ('choke') is often found in other 'thistles' of the group (tribe) that also features the discoid inflorescence. Origin is obscure but probably initially domesticated in the Mediterranean region - a polypoid (2n=34) perennial that is typically propagated vegetatively (suckers) in that seed progeny are quite variable.

Apiaceae - celery - Apium graveolens - petioles - also celeriac - kind of a kohlrabi of celery - occurs wild in wet places of temperate Eurasia, possibly 1^st used by the Greeks as a medicinal prior to domestication as leaf, petiole, and stem crop. Also root crops from the family - Daucus carota (carrot) (is it true that they are good for your sight - check text) - the modern, orange, 'carotene' (orange) carrot cultivars have been derived from selection that started in the 1600s (Netherlands) from the eastern anthocyanin cultivars (purple to black) that were probably developed from wild types still found in Afghanistan and this is probably the area of origin. Also, Pastinaca sativa - parsnips - similar to carrots but, like cabbage, initially important in that the root will over-winter, a benefit that is no longer important - both carrot and parship are fundamental european crops that link to the eastern Mediterranean. This large family is more important, from an economic perspective, as a contributor of spices (essential oils).

Asparagus officinalis - Liliaceae (monocot) - native to Eurasia - periodic burning - rhizome with shoots at the nodes - eat shoots - also other species 'asparagus ferns' used as ornamentals. Like Quercus suber, this species is adapted to Chappral habitat of southern Europe and we 'harvest' from this adaptive tactic.

Also Liliaceae:

Allium and relatives (ca. 700 species of the genus, north temperate - elements selected throughout Eurasia) - Onion (Allium cepa), garlic (A. sativum), leek (A. ampeloprasum) - bulbs, or clusters of bulbs (garlic) or leaves (chives - A. schoenoprasum ). Distinctive feature of all is rich association with European lore (Troll rejection, medicinal applications) and release of distinctive volatile compounds (sulfides) from crushed cells that are water soluable (dissolve in the eye to produce sulfuric acid).

Also monocots: - 'true' Yams (Dioscorea - Dioscoreaceae - 2nd only to Solanum tuberosum as a cultivated tuber and Taro (Colocasia esculenta and Xanthosoma sagittifolium) of the Araceae. - Plants produce CORMS (vertical rhizomes) filled with starch - major resource of the tropics - especially south pacific - poi = fermented taro starch.

Finally roots: Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas - Convolvulaceae) - also known as 'yams' because Columbus, the 1^st European to encounter sweet potatoes, familiar with Dioscorea from West Africa, called them 'yams'. Ipomoea is a genus of ca. 400 species, worldwide distribution, I. Purpurea is the common garden morning glory, the seeds of several species are used in folk medicine and as a narcotic (LSD-like compounds). The species appears to be native to the western hemisphere in that is was a major component of Arawak (extirpated natives of the Greater Antilles) and aboriginal agriculture throughout the low-mid elevation tropics of the New World, dried material from Andean archaeological sites dates to 8-10k BP - BUT also very much a part of aboriginal agricultural systems and ritual culture in Polynesia - its presence there suggests the possibility of pre-Columbian tras-pacific contact (Thor Heyerdal - Kon Tiki), although other explanations (natural dispersal, very early introduction (Spanish) and incorporation ('Irish' potato).

Beet (Beta vulgaris - Chenopodiaceae) - four distinct cultigens, Swiss Chard (leaf), fodder beet (mangel-wurzels), red 'vegetable' beet, and sugar beet. The non-leaf types show a transition of stem (hypocotyl) vs. root tissue (vegetable-fodder-sugar). Sugar beet provides a 'northern' (temperate as opposed to tropical grass - Saccharum officinarum) source of sugar - eaten as a root crop for centuries - neareast - sugar con. 2% in in the 18th century to 20% today. One of the few examples of modern (historic) selection (mostly by the French - Napoleon) producing something new and useful.