Plant Uses & Human Civilization

Plant Utility and Exploitation

• Common villagers often lack knowledge about the medicinal properties of weeds
• They may not understand their ecological and economic significance.
• Weeds in agricultural fields are viewed as unwanted due to their invasive nature, requiring control/eradication.
• These plants are welcome in barren areas for soil-saving capabilities against erosion, drought, and denudation.
• Some weeds aid crop growth by providing shade, absorbing moisture, and fixing atmospheric nitrogen.
• These plants can also serve as sources of food, fodder, fiber, fuel, and ingredients for folk/ethno-medicines

Plants and Human Civilization

• People have cultivated plants for a settled life since the Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic).
• Human civilization began its transformation from food gathering to food production in this period.
• The Neolithic era saw the invention and use of stone tools for agriculture.
• Agriculture became important for fulfilling basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing.
• Plants provide fruits, vegetables, cereals, and fodder to provide humans and livestock.

Origin of Cultivated Plants and Vavilov's Centre of Origin

• Alexander von Humboldt (1807) suggested that the origin of many useful plants is unknown due to a lack of a defined center of origin for some crops
• Genomic and archeological data support centers of origin, diversity, and history.
• Alphonse de Candolle (1883) researched 247 cultivated species, recording plants' ancestral forms, domestication, and history.
• This included traveler's accounts, ancient botanists, Chinese writings, and archaeological/ethnological findings.

Plants of Old World Origin

• Plants cultivated for 4000+ years include: almond, fig, peach, apple, pear, apricot, grape, rice, hemp, barley, millet, tea, cabbage, wheat, and olive.
• Plants cultivated for 2000+ years include: alfalfa, oats, radish, cherry, carrot, beet, plum, walnut, poppy, nutmeg, and yam.
• Plants cultivated for fewer than 2000 years include: coffee, okra, artichoke, muskmelon, raspberry, and strawberry.

Plants of New World Origin

• Plants cultivated for 2000+ years (possibly 4000+) include cocoa, maize, sweet potato, and tobacco.
• Plants cultivated before Columbus's time include avocado, cotton, pineapple, squash, potato, tomato, pumpkin, vanilla, and guava.
• Plants cultivated since Columbus's time include Cinchona, blackberry, rubber, blueberry, strawberry, and pecan.

Darwin and Domestication

• Darwin (1868) proposed that wild plants evolved into cultivated plants through modification.
• Plant domestication hinges on "Centres of origin".
• Domestication happens as wild plants evolve into crops via artificial selection.
• This involves hybridization and selective breeding.
• Alphonse de Candolle (1890) initially proposed it, with Nikolai Vavilov (1926) later describing the concept.
• Domestication occurred in discrete "centres" on the basis of phenotype, archaeology and wild ancestor remains.
• Crop evolution involves independent domestication events.
• Diversity in landraces and wild relatives typically occurs near domestication origins.
• These are genetically diverse and locally adapted.
• Sorghum, sugarcane, and peanuts were domesticated over broad areas, not defined centers.
• Landraces can be found outside their original domestication sites.

Vavilov's Work

• Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov was an expert in exploring plants and introducing species.
• He was a crop geographer known for the "gene center" concept and explored plants through worldwide expeditions.
• Wide genetic variability exists in areas like Ethiopia (wheat) and South America (potato).
• Vavilov defined "centres of origin" for most crops including areas of Mexico and Central America, China, and West Asia.
• Mountainous regions in the tropics/subtropics having high plant wealth have been called regions of gene diversity.
• Species migrated from these gene regions to other areas and variations from cultivars to wild species have been reported in these regions.

Vavilov's Centers for Cultivated Plants

• Vavilov (1926) suggested six geographic cultivating centers that he later expanded to eleven:
  • The Chinese center includes the mountains of Central and Western China and adjacent lowlands and 136 endemic plant species that include millets, bamboo, and legumes.
  • The Indian center includes regions of Myanmar and Assam, 117 endemic plant species such as cotton, rice, and sugarcane.
  • The Indo-Malayan includes the regions in Indo-China and the Malay Archipelago totaling 55 plants from this region such as banana, coconut, and sugarcane.
  • The Central Asiatic region includes the regions in Afghanistan, Northwest India, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Western China with 43 plant species such as almond, garlic, and peas.
  • The Eastern center includes regions in Asia Minor, Iran, as well as the highlands of Turkmenistan with 83 plant species such as nine species of wheat, fruits, and rye.

Mediterranean and American Centers

• The Mediterranean Region, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, has provided 84 plants such as asparagus, olives, and clover like plants.
• Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica makes up the South-Mexican and Central American center containing plants like maize, guava, and tobacco.
• The South American center includes:
• The Peruvian Ecuadorean Bolivian center- with mountainous highlands with native plants including pumpkins, lima beans, and potatoes.
  • The Chilian center consists of potato plant life
• The Brazilian-Paraguayan center- thought to be the origin of cashew nuts, rubber trees, and groundnuts.

Vavilov's Legacy

• About 85% of the 640 species were listed by Vavilov include species originating in Asia, Africa, and Europe.
• Vavilov believed climate fluctuations are responsible for plant biodiversity.
• He distinguished primary and secondary gene accumulation centers and believed domestication began in the primary centers and dominant genes characterized it.
• Regions outside the primary centers had recessive genes and were considered secondary centers.
• Variety in areas has been known as ago-ecological groups by Vavilov.
• Harlan (1951) used the term -microcentre for region has one or more crop variations.
• Vavilov argued that domesticated plants have multiple origins including wheat, rice, flax, and other common food varieties.
• Varying centre numbers came with different researchers, Vavilov beginning with 5 genetic centres to Darlington and Janaki Ammal and to 15 by 1973.
• Later analysis discredited Vavilov’s theory

Plant Source as Food

• Plants are source of a wide variety of nutrients required to keep the human body in perfect working condition.
• Humans consume everything from fruits, flowers, even the stem of some plants, leaves and stem-like lettuce, celery, roots of some plants like carrots, beetroot, and seeds like wheat, rice, etc.
• Food comes from plant even animal relies on them.
• Plants provides us with common foods like vegetables, coffee, cereals, pulses, fruits, sugar, spices, and oil. Vegetables
• Vegetables are obtained from plants.
• Some nutrient-rich vegetables such as beetroot, turnip, spinach, cauliflower, etc. are obtained from plants. The roots, leaves, and stems of some plants are edible.
• People who consume more vegetables and fruits as part of a healthy diet are less prone to developing chronic diseases. Vegetables supply essential nutrients for your body's health and upkeep.

Plant Parts as Food

• Roots such as radish, turnip, carrot, and beetroot are frequently harvested and prepared for use in the winter when other food sources were scarce, roots were cooked and used as a food source. Roots were also utilised to treat a variety of ailments, such as sore throats, poison ivy rashes, and heart trouble.
• Vegetable stems that are commonly harvested are Asparagus, Celery Rhubarb, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Bamboo shoots. Brussels sprouts, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Garlic leeks and Green onions, Potato and ginger.
• Leaf vegetables, often known as salad greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or just greens, are plant leaves that are eaten as a vegetable are Spinach, cabbage, Collard Greens, Beet Greens, Watercress, Romaine lettuce.
• Flowers are also the source of vegetables and have an emotional sensory value in ornamental plants. Flowers such as broccoli and cauliflower are edible as vegetables.
• Fruits are an edible source of a sweet plan and are consumed fresh but can also be cooked. Daily fruit intake is dependent on a person's age, weight, and level of physical activity.
• Cereals provide components made endosperm including wheat, rise, barley, and maize which supply sources of nutrients as crops are frown in large quantities for food consumption.

Beverages and Other Plant Parts

• Pseudocereals are edible grains from other families including chia, buckwheat, and quinoa.
• Popular beverages such as Coffee and Tea are commonly obtained from the coffee plant which is rich in choline, magnesium, phosphorus, aids in hydration, regulation of the neurological system.
• Oil can be extracted from seeds and leaves of castor, mustard, sunflower which are rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
• Spices and herbs are plant parts grown for their desirable properties such as rhizomes, bulbs, flower buds, to produce foods that are rich in protein, fibres and carbohydrates.
• Out of the 3 lakh edible plants species on Earth, only 300 species or so are eaten by the world.

Plants as Fodder

• Fodder, or provender, is agricultural foodstuff used for domesticated livestock like cattle, rabbits, and pigs.
• "Fodder" foods are given to animals, rather than those they forage.
• Fodder is a combination of hay, straw, silage, grains/legumes and oils.

Categories of Byproducts for use as Feeding Animals

• Straw is the dried remnant of a harvested crop from the ground including barely, oats, and rice.
• The fibrous residue is from black and green gram and cowpea which are highly nutritious.
• Husks such as rice milling solvent for corn an peanut oil provides low density options for animal feeding.
• Entire herbage of fine stemmed grasses for forage is hay, any forage crop cut before storage is dried.
• Stovers contain harvests of millet and maize which is given to livestock as supplements. Haulms, legumes, and grasses provide different characteristics used for feeding livestock.

Plants as Source of Fibres

• Plant fibers come from seeds (cotton, milkweed), stems (flax, jute, ramie, bamboo), leaves (sisal), and fruit (coir).
• Fiber crops or plant fibers are natural, possessing length, width, tenacity, and uniformity.
• Fibers consist of sclerenchyma cells connected to vascular fabrics and plant skeleton which are raw materials with threads and spun into cloths.

Examples of Fibre Crops

• Cotton, a plant fiber from a tropical plant, cultivated in warm regions having black soil, is known as fabric life.
• Jute, a fiber from vegetables is mainly a product of West Bengal and Bangladesh known as lingo-cellulosic fibre and has many uses.
• The coir fiber is produced from coconuts plants for floor mats and brushes.
• Hemp is soft, durable and cultivated for various purposes and is used to ropes.
• Flax, known as flax seeds, come from the Linum which is native to the Mediterranean, has has been found present from 30,000 BC is used to make materials such as papers and handkerchiefs.

Qualities of Fibre

• Jute has yellow fiber
• Fibre corps such as silk are harvested from plants and trees.
• Plant fibres are losing importance are are cost-effective fibres with stronger properties.

Plant Source as Spices

• Spices come are obtained from roots, stems, leaves with herbs are of non-woody origin.
• Spices give flabouring and other components to foods such as the bark, leaves, buds, rhizomes or the entire topping of the plant.
• Spices can be used as extracts by dissolving the spice material or a subset of the plant like oregano.

Climate Conditions for Spices

• Pepper Pepper (Piper nigrum) is a vine found between of 20° North and 20° altitude of 2400m.
• Capsicums require 600-1250mm in growing months.
• Nutmeg, Mace and By-products require 20m of optimum growth.
• Cardamom needs 750-1500m altitude with a 2500-4000mm natural rainfall.
• Vanilla grows in climates with 1900 – 2300mm annual rainfall with a temperature to 27°C.
• Clove trees grow as an evergreen with 15-130°C maritime climate Ginger has a optimum temperature from 2500-3000. Cinnamon tolerates varying soil levels and grows with a 27-30C temperature with 2000- 2500mm rainfall.
• Turmeric requires 1000-2000mm annual rainfall. Saffron is the commercial product of flower growing with specific temperature conditions for flower production.
• Coriander a smelling herb has specific needs based the size as a determinant of use content.
• Cumin has low atmospheric humidity that needs seeds of the aromatic fruit for use.
• White Mustard is world-wide growing for ripe seeds.
• Sesame an annual herb needs the right climate with 10-40C conditions and 40 and 180 days..

Plant as Source of Beverages

• Plant beverages are fermented or processes by plants or plant raw materials.
• The produce potable beverages or contain starch or sugar for beverage production
• Tea is the most important crop Common Classic Stimulants are coffee, tea, and yerba mate. Common Fruity Refreshments include, fruit juices and coconut water. Common Herbal Infusions include, peppermint tea, ginger tea, and hibiscus tea. Other popular beverages include kombucha, sap, or rice milk.

Drugs from Herbs

• Plants are a source of medicines for early drug use.
• The dried extract of the poppy plant (Papaver somniferum) is known as opium which has been documented through ancient civilizations and used through Greeks and also a general tonic.
• Cocaine comes from the coca (Erythroxylon coca) is a shrub that grows well in South America , it is a natural household remedy to fight fatigue and stimulate the plant.
• Ephedra is a short twiggy shrub used in Chinese medicinal preparations. including Ephedrine which the medicine contains and causes dose-dependent pressure and heart rate to increase.
• Mushrooms and plants are hallucinogenic with psilocin used in various psychiatric mushroom types like Psilocybe.
• Asprin is a salicylate analgesic for willow bark for antipyretics and salicin..

Herbs and Treatment Use

• Penicillin interferes synthesis in cell walls and was revealed by Alexander Fleming in 1928.
• Atropa belladonna is a perennial herb that is made of alkaloids scopolamine and atropine which effects cause tachycardia.
• Strychnine is used as a circulatory plant but was one a rodent toxin used for energizers.

Plants as Insectisides

• Plants sources help provide natural insecticides.
• Plants are source help create alternative to pesticide which harm environments, can be biodegradable and species targets.
• Plant have chemicals that act have special killing mechanism.
• Traditional practice and local practices to allow the knowledge of plants for control.
• Examples of Neem, Pyrethrum, Rotenone, Pepper are plants that are insecticides.

Plants as Source of Timber

• Timber with various purposes are a vital source of plants.
• Plant timber has different types including, hardwood from broadleaf trees, and softwood as a conifer. Sustainable timber production creates planation harvesting which leads to benefits on the environment and is a renewable source.

Plant Source as Gum

• Gums, and Resins are secondary metabolic plants.
• Gums is used to water-soluble carbohydrates known as thickeners.
• Gums are stick mixtures of a defense reaction to insects and pathogens not soluble in water.

Plant Applications

• Plant applications are based in various ways including cosmetics, emulsifies, and thickeners. .
• Gums are harvested from trees. Examples of plant applications include arabics, guar gums, or resins.

Plants as Source for Dyes

• Dyes or pigment are derived from tree parts such as roots, foliage, nuts, and flowers.
• For dyes, parts are extracted to transform pigments.
• Plant dyes include black walnut, chatechu, gamboge treee resin, ebony leaves for colouration of dyes.

Source of Latex

• Latex serves from clothing to paint, or rubber. It is creamy is from plant compounds.
• Families include various plants such as Euphoria family and Asteraceae which is common in Brazil.
• Planted cellulose is the origin of cellulose serving benefits to humans. It can be found in cellulose walls. cellulose is renewable due to its readily planting and ability to break down waste.

Cellulose in Practice

Cellulose has a series of uses in the industry such paper, textiles or biofuels. Cellulose is also for chemical production and medicine for delivering purposes.

Potential of Cellulose

With sustainability becoming a important factor cellulose is being researched for applications such as lightweight materials and bioplastics.

Plants as Starch

• Plants are primary source starch used plants and animals.
• Starch is found organs for storage dependent in the plant such as roots, like cassava, or seeds as grains.
• Plant bases is the source for energy and food. In industry its a thicknesser with uses in paper and biofuels. Starch is renewable as plants replinsh their sources.

Plant Source for Perfumery

• Perfume, meaning through smoke, is fragrant liquids.
• Indigenous cultures in tropical areas are known for extracting oils from numerous plants.
• Plants are distributed with oily products for essential oils

Components

• Flower such as roses add an extraction scent to oils.
• Plants such as garanium or earth components offer extraction components
• Fruits and seeds add an important structure.

Plants and Ethnobotany

• Ethnobotany is a human discipline in interactions with plants for understanding local knowledge rooted deep in the tribes.
• The term was coined by John William for the use for local people. The relationship can helps with awareness and understanding of a particular society. Also tribal group of local region depend on tribal groups.

Context

• Plants have saved immemorial, plant knowledge was recognised, herbs were needed, tribal plants are a needed and should be valued.
• Ethnobotany happens in area of research
• Ethnobotany helps play for understanding materials needs. Studies help with dru development and conservations.

Use of Herbal

• Herbal comes from a place to grow in the required conditions.
• In temperate greenhouse environment has humidity, heat, venilation.

Botanical Gardens

Is a maintained and a living collection. It is a place for both pure and functual studiies. Public park and gardens serve serves as a center and re creation center. Also are repository and with accurate identifications.

BSI

Botanies gardens explain several thing and help the public to interest.

Convention on Environment

Lead to signing to conservation and bio diversity

Herbaria

• The herbarium stores system classifications available for other references. All research and educational institutes have species available to study.
• This is traced to Italy from early sixteenth when dried plants were sown on paper by Luca Grini. Is a storage of various kinds of plants. Herbarium plants are preserved of all kinds. Also provide material for a specific training. Some herbaria are listed in India.