Plants and PeopleOverview of New World Crops

and their Areas of Origin

Plant Domestication and the Shift to Agriculture in the Andes

What environments characterize the Andean cultural area?

The major types of tropical crops:Lowland roots and tubersMid- and high elevation roots and tubersPseudocerealsMaizeLegumesSquashesGourdFibersSpicesStimulantsFruits and nuts

Major New World root/tuber crops

Potato, Solanum tuberosumSweet potato, Ipomoea batatasManioc, Manihot esculentaYam, Diocorea trifidaCocoyam, Xanthosoma saggitifoliumArrowroot, Maranta arundinaceaLleren, Calathea allouiaAchira, Canna edulis

Potato: a high elevation Andean domesticate

Solanum tuberosumDomesticated in

central Peru to northern BoliviaChromosome

doubling occurred (diploid to tetraploid)

Commonly grown at Contact between 2000-4000 m (above the range of lowland tubers)

Llerén (a) and arrowroot (b)Llerén, Calathea allouiaArrowroot, Maranta

arundinacea?? area of origins: likely

in seasonal forest edges, Northern South America and/or Central America

Very little used today, except for production of arrowroot starch in the Caribbean

Llerén requires no processing

Achira, or cannaAchira, Canna edulisAnother robust herb

with broad leavesDifferent family than

arrowroot, llerén, but in the same order

Can grow in a broad range of conditions in lowlands

Grows up to 2000 m in Andes

?? Area of origin, perhaps low elevation northern Andes

Cocoyam (a) and yam (b)Cocoyam, Xanthosoma

sagittifolium?? Area of origin,

northern or southern seasonal tropics

Robust herb, can grow in wetter conditions than other root/tuber crops

Yam, Dioscorea trifidaPossibly originated in

Guiana, based on wild related plants

A vine adapted to forest edges

Manioc (a), sweet potato (b)Manioc, Manihot esculenta

Likely domesticated in seasonal forests on southern edge of Amazon

High yielding“bitter” varieties must be

processedSweet potato, Ipomoea

batatas?? Area of origin, Central

America/Northern South America

Spread early into the Pacific, SE Asia

vine

Legumes (pulses) of the lowland tropics:Vegetable protein, nitrogen fixingPeanutJack beanCommon beanLima bean

A: Peanut, B: Jack bean Peanut, Arachis hypogaeaDomesticated in NW

Argentina/S Bolivia in seasonal moist habitat

Riverine setting likelyFruits develop

underground Jack bean, Canavalia

plagiosperma?? Area of origin,

perhaps dry coastal South America

First legume in coastal Ecuador

Common bean Common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris

All P. vulgaris: green bean, kidney bean, black bean, butter bean, navy bean, etc.

Domesticated in low to mid-elevation mountains in South and Central AmericaMultiple

domesticationsWidely grown

except in Amazon (too wet)

Lima bean Lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus

Two basic types: large seeded, small seeded

Domesticated independently in low-mid elevation Andes and in Central America/northern South America

Multiple domestications and hybridizations likely

The squash family (Cucurbitaceae)•Gourd, Lagenaria siceraria•Squash, Cucurbita spp.

A: gourd; B: squash Gourd, Lagenaria sicerariaNOT a native New World

plantBrought from Asia via

Beringia or via coastal migration

Squashes:C. moschata (lowlands)C. maxima (w. Andes)C. ficifolia (high

elevation)Squashes independently

domesticated

Chile peppers, Capsicum spp.

Three domesticated species:C. frutescens

N. lowland South AmC. baccatum

S. lowland South AmC. pubescence

mid-elevation, Bolivia

Highly variable shapes, colors, degree of “hotness”

Lots of overlap in range, hydrization with wild, feral chilis

Wild are bird-dispersed

Maize (b) and ancestor teosinte (a)

Maize, Zea maysAncestor: Balsas

teosinte, Zea mays spp. parviglumis

Area of origin: dry tropical forests of southern/western Mexico

Hundreds of local varieties, high variability

Good carbohydrate source, good protein (if cooked with calcium carbonate)

A demanding crop

Major crops of the Eastern Woodlands

SquashSunflower and

marchelderThe “starch

sisters”:ChenopodErect knotweedMaygrass Little barley

Cucurbita pepo ssp. ovifera, squash

One lineage of C. pepo was domesticated in the Eastern US

seeds are edible and nutritiousOily, protein-rich

Hard rind is useful as container, net float

Later replaced by an introduced Mexican variety (pumpkin)

Helianthus annuus, sunflowerDomesticated

sunflowers have larger seed heads, fewer side branches than wild sunflower

Domesticated seeds (achenes) 6-20 mm longOily, protein

Wild H. annuus grows in central-western US and northern Mexico

Domesticated in Eastern US and Mexico

Iva annua, marshelderMember of the

daisy family, like sunflower

Achenes 4-10 mm longOily, high protein

wild plants occur in middle and lower Mississippi river region and west onto the plains

Disturbed, moist habitats

Chenopodium berlandieri, Chenopod

Domesticated seeds 1.5 mm in diameterstarchy

Wild plants are annuals found in disturbed habitats

Widespread in the eastern US

Polygonum erectum, erect knotweedDomesticated

seeds (achenes) 2-5 mm longStarchy

Wild annual grows throughout the Eastern US, scarce today

Disturbed, open habitats

Summary: Plant Domestication in Eastern North America