Like many people, plants like to travel, conquering not only the thousands of kilometers of space, but hundreds of years of time.The wide dispersal of plants propagated in the new conditions and become familiar and essential food on the dining table, contributed to the geographical discoveries of the past.Corn, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, tobacco, sunflower, beans were brought to Europe after the discovery of America.
Familiar plants - visitors from distant countries?
Once considered a rare overseas curiosity and expensive delicacy of potatoes - a resident of the South American Andes Mountains - was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards in the 16th century on the caravels loaded with gold and silver.The Russians first met him in the late 17th century and were first grown as ornamental plants;even the great ladies adorned themselves with its flowers.The Russian plant traveler potatoes are very rare dish at the king's table;in 1741 at the ceremonial dinner for the entire court filed its only 500 grams.Potatoes did not know how to grow food and ate poisonous berries and not tubers.Only in the second half of the 19th century, it was used in the usual quality product took pride of place on the dining table of each person.
tomatoes (tomato) - a native of Peru (this is where it can still be found in the wild with fruit the size of a cherry and weighing no more than 5 grams), translated from Italian means "golden apple".Europe met with tomato, imported from South America in the late 18th century;in Russia this plant as a food crop has appeared in the mid-19th century.Americans have long believed tomatoes poisonous, even attempting to poison the fruits of George Washington - first president.
Sunflower - also a traveler?
Sunflower, familiar to us the plant is a guest from faraway Mexico, whose inhabitants considered it a sacred flower embodies the sun and worthy of admiration.Once in the 16th century from America to Europe, the plant-traveler became an ornament of the royal garden in Madrid.Then he fell in love with the French elite: the French king Louis XIV ordered to plant sunflower field located near Versailles.Under the charm of solar plants and Peter got to see him in the Netherlands.The young king went home a bag of sunflower seeds, where it was grown in the Kremlin garden as overseas miracle.With a light flow of Russians ingenious sunflower seeds began to be used as a delicacy and fragrant and tasty oil from the seeds of sunflower caused indispensable and widespread.
plant traveler cucumber - thermophilic and familiar to us the product - it turns out, is also visiting guests, the historic homeland is considered Southeast Asia and India.Remains of cucumber placed as food dead, were found in the oldest Egyptian tombs and temples in India can be seen carved figures of the vegetable.In Russia cucumber got to 10-11 century from Byzantium and now is grown throughout its territory, as in the open field and in greenhouses.
Plantain travels the planet for the sole
From the grass crops, which became widespread in Russia, I want to highlight psyllium.Its medicinal properties have been known even to a child;leaf applied to the wound, it stops the blood and calms the pain.Why is the plant called psyllium-traveler?Because this culture prevalent in most parts of the world and is revered in many countries since ancient times.Italians, Greeks, Persians and Arabs were offering high this plant for medicinal properties.Plantain is able to protect from evil forces, relieve headaches, help the bites of mosquitoes and bees, reduce inflammatory processes in the body.The Americans have a plant-traveler is also called "the trail of the white man", because it is a "white man", this plant appeared on their continent.And hardly settlers transported it to the world on purpose, probably plant seeds inadvertently mixed with other seeds or into the soles of shoes and other items.This fact proves the amazing vitality of such a magical plant.In Russia, its name plantain received a locus: the roadside it often can be detected.
Newcomers plant weeds
From America to Europe was brought pineappleweed, which in the 70s of the 19th century appeared in large numbers on the slopes railway embankments where migrated into the mainland, where widespread.To get this plant could traveler to Europe with grain purchased, which, apparently, has not been thoroughly cleaned of weed seeds.They woke up through the cracks cars and seeded.
travelers Some plants (water hyacinth and Canadian waterweed) have become a real scourge for most regions.Waterweed on the bottom of ponds, the present green meadows than creating tangible interference with navigation and fishing.For simplicity and high adapting to any conditions it was nicknamed "a water plague" or "water plague".Now all the water bodies in Asia and Europe paved with this plant.
not inferior Elodie Canadian water hyacinth - the worst weed of reservoirs and rivers, dense carpet covering the water surface.Imported from America as an ornamental plant, it quickly got its spread in the waters of Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, Asia and Africa.
European gifts
America not only has enriched Europe America popular culture.European and Asian countries also do not remain in debt, introducing Americans with rice, wheat, barley, sugar cane, beets and other crops.Many plants travelers have a close relationship with the person entering the so-called commensal group (from the Greek. "Syn" - together, "Anthropos" - people).That relationship with a man led them widely, owing to which many have become cosmopolitans and occupy most of the land.These plants include pigweed, dandelion, shepherd's purse, annual bluegrass.
