List of domesticated plants

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of plants that have been domesticated by humans.

The list includes species or larger formal and informal botanical categories that include at least some domesticated individuals.

To be considered domesticated, a population of plants must have their behavior, life cycle, or appearance significantly altered as a result of being under humans control for multiple generations. (Please see the main article on domestication for more information.)

Plants in this list are organized by the original or primary purpose for which they were domesticated. When a plant has more than one significant human use, it has been listed in more than one category.

1 Food and cooking
2 Commodities
3 Ornamental plants
4 See also

[edit] Food and cooking

Fruit trees (See: List of fruits)
- Drupes
  - coconut
  - olive
  - papaya
  - peach
  - apricot
  - plum
  - chupanilla plum
- Pomes
  - apple
  - pear
- 103+ domesticated plant species in the Amazon, including sapodilla, calabash, tucuma, babacu, acai, wild pineapple], cocopalm, American-oil palm, Panama-hat palm, peach palm (Bactris gasipaes), ice-cream bean,
- Citrus fruits
- Nut trees
Cereals (or grains, also called "corn plants" in the UK)
- amaranth
- barley
- buckwheat
- little barley (Hordcum pusillum, central US pre-Columbian)
- maygrass (Phalaris caroliniana, central US pre-columbian)
- knotweed bristlegrass (aka, erect knotwed, Polygonum erectum, New World, important prior to development of maize)
- maize (called corn in the U.S.). Old domesticated plant, found in countless variations throughout the Americas.
- millet (predominantly in African cultures, also for beer brewing)
- oats (called corn in the UK, esp. Scotland)
- quinoa
- marshelder (aka sumpweed, Iva annua, central US pre-Columbian)
- rice. The chief crop in eastern Asia, and an important foodstuff around the world.
- rye (used in Eastern Europe Countries, and for alcoholic beverages)
- teff -- Ethiopia (also tef)
- wheat (called corn in the UK, esp. England). Has a very long history of domestication and is thought to be one of the first plants used for farming.
Legumes
- Beans (eaten dry as pulses or fresh as vegetables)
  - azuki bean
  - pea
  - knotweed (central US pre-Columbian)
  - lentil
  - mung bean
  - lima bean
  - common bean (including pinto bean, kidney bean and others)
  - jicama
  - mucuma
  - sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
Small-plant fruits
- grapes
- strawberry
- gourds
- drupelet berries
  - raspberry
- peppers
- melon (several species)
- tomato
- squash (eg, Cucurbita pepo, multiple varieties)
  - pumpkin
  - zucchini
Root vegetables
- Non-starchy
  - beet
  - carrot
  - parsnip
  - turnip
- Starchy
  - manioc
  - potato
  - sweet potato
  - cassava
  - taro
  - yam
Vegetables (See: List of vegetables)
Herbs and Spices (See: List of herbs and spices)
Oil producing plants (for cooking)
- olive
- Legumes grown principally for oil production
  - peanut (also commonly eaten in the United States, and important in Thai cuisine)
  - soybean (also a major livestock feed, and export crop, and sometimes eaten as a snack food in the U.S.)

[edit] Commodities

Plants grown principally for animal food or soil enrichment
- grasses grown for hay
- alfalfa
- clover
Oil producing plants (for fuel or lubrication)
- canola (variety of rape seed)
- olive
Drug plants
- cannabis
- coffee
- cacao (source of chocolate)
- opium poppy
- quinine
- tobacco
- belladonna (origianl source of digitalis)
Fiber plants (for textiles)
- cannabis (aka, marijuana, pot, hemp, ...)
- cotton
- flax
- jute
- manila hemp
Research and science