The ecological side of an ethnobotanical coin: legacies in historically managed trees

The sleeping crops of eastern North America: a new synthesis

Indigenous peoples in eastern North America domesticated a diverse group of annual crops. Several of these crops fell out of cultivation around the time of European colonization, and their domesticated forms are known only from the archaeological record. These crops have previously been characterized as lost, but in the context of a renaissance in Indigenous agriculture in this region, they are perhaps better understood as sleeping: this ancient agricultural system and its myriad ecosystem interactions could be reawakened. I briefly review the history of research on native eastern North American crops, and then synthesize recent research in terms of three themes: new models of domestication based on ecological, experimental and archaeological studies; new insights into the evolution of ancient agrobiodiversity; and an increasingly expansive understanding of the domesticated landscapes of ancient eastern North America. I conclude by suggesting some priorities for future research, and considering this sleeping agricultural system as a source of alternative crops and methods for the North American midcontinent in an era of rapid climate change.This article is part of the theme issue 'Unravelling domestication: multi-disciplinary perspectives on human and non-human relationships in the past, present and future'.

Genomic Screening to Identify Food Trees Potentially Dispersed by Precolonial Indigenous Peoples

Over millennia, Indigenous peoples have dispersed the propagules of non-crop plants through trade, seasonal migration or attending ceremonies; and potentially increased the geographic range or abundance of many food species around the world. Genomic data can be used to reconstruct these histories. However, it can be difficult to disentangle anthropogenic from non-anthropogenic dispersal in long-lived non-crop species. We developed a genomic workflow that can be used to screen out species that show patterns consistent with faunal dispersal or long-term isolation, and identify species that carry dispersal signals of putative human influence. We used genotyping-by-sequencing (DArTseq) and whole-plastid sequencing (SKIMseq) to identify nuclear and chloroplast Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in east Australian rainforest trees (4 families, 7 genera, 15 species) with large (>30 mm) or small (<30 mm) edible fruit, either with or without a known history of use by Indigenous peoples. We employed standard population genetic analyses to test for four signals of dispersal using a limited and opportunistically acquired sample scheme. We expected different patterns for species that fall into one of three broadly described dispersal histories: (1) ongoing faunal dispersal, (2) post-megafauna isolation and (3) post-megafauna isolation followed by dispersal of putative human influence. We identified five large-fruited species that displayed strong population structure combined with signals of dispersal. We propose coalescent methods to investigate whether these genomic signals can be attributed to post-megafauna isolation and dispersal by Indigenous peoples.

Morphological characteristics and determination of volatile organic compounds of Diospyros virginiana L. genotypes fruits

The aim of this study was to determine morphometric differences of fruits and seeds between 19 selected American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana L.) genotypes. The genotypes of American persimmon have been growing more than 15 years in Forest-Steppe of Ukraine in the M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of NAS of Ukraine. They are well adapted to the climatic and soil conditions. The fruits were collected at the period of their full maturity (October). The population differs in a weight, shape, size and color of fruits and seeds. Their morphometric parameters were following: fruit weight from 2.30 to 81.30 g, fruit length from 8.84 to 49.73 mm, fruit width from 12.84 to 55.34 mm, seed weight from 0.1 to 1.0 g, seed length from 8.30 to 20.88 mm, fruit width from 7.04 to 14.88 mm, seed thickness from 1.98 to 7.09 mm and number of seeds in the fruit from 1 to 8. Partenocarpic fruits are found in some genotypes. The shape indexes of fruits and seeds were found ranging from 0.74 to 1.10 and from 1.01 to 1.77, respectively. During the analysis of qualitative composition and quantitative content of volatiles of fruits from the 4 perspective genotypes of Diospyros virginiana 106 compounds were detected. From them 83 compounds were identified. The identified compounds belong to alcohols, saturated and unsaturated aldehydes, ketons, fatty acids, esters, terpenoids etc. The fruits are rich in fat acids. The outcome of the research points to the fact that the genepool of Ukrainian Diospyros virginiana is a rich source of genetic diversity and might be used in selection for creation a new genotypes and cultivars.

Speaking of food: connecting basic and applied plant science

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that food production must rise 70% over the next 40 years to meet the demands of a growing population that is expected to reach nine billion by the year 2050. Many facets of basic plant science promoted by the Botanical Society of America are important for agriculture; however, more explicit connections are needed to bridge the gap between basic and applied plant research. This special issue, Speaking of Food: Connecting Basic and Applied Plant Science, was conceived to showcase productive overlaps of basic and applied research to address the challenges posed by feeding billions of people and to stimulate more research, fresh connections, and new paradigms. Contributions to this special issue thus illustrate some interactive areas of study in plant science-historical and modern plant-human interaction, crop and weed origins and evolution, and the effects of natural and artificial selection on crops and their wild relatives. These papers provide examples of how research integrating the basic and applied aspects of plant science benefits the pursuit of knowledge and the translation of that knowledge into actions toward sustainable production of crops and conservation of diversity in a changing climate.