Curated category
Founder crops
- BarleyAround 9000 BC, farmers in the Fertile Crescent began cultivating wild barley. This region spans from North Africa to Tibet.
- PeaCarl Linnaeus assigned the scientific name Pisum sativum to this species in 1753. The Latin phrase translates directly to cultivated pea.
- FlaxCarl Linnaeus coined the scientific name Linum usitatissimum in his 1753 book Species Plantarum. This flowering plant belongs to the family Linaceae and…
- LentilThe plant known as Vicia lens or Lens culinaris stands about 30 to 60 centimeters tall. It belongs to the Fabaceae family, commonly called the legume or bean…
- ChickpeaTen thousand years ago, hunter-gatherers in the Fertile Crescent began harvesting wild plants that would eventually become chickpeas.