Plants & Civilizations
As in the Past , even to-day, medical
knowledge is passed on by word of
from generation to generation.
Earlier communications between the
tribes were poor,
remedies were probably discovered
independently many times in
several parts of the world.
Sumerian drawings of opium poppy capsules from
2500 B.C. suggest a good knowledge of medicinal
plants.
Important record -series of tablets curved with the
code of Hammurabi, under the direction of the king
of Babylon around 1770 B.C.
Clay tablets
Collection of vegetal formulae
Sumero-Akkadian pharmacopoeia :
 40 plants
ORIGIN & MIGRATION
• In the old Eurasian world:
3 Major Centres of Origin & Domestication:
1-Yang Tse Kiang valley-China.
2- Indus Valley-Pakistan.
3-Fertile Crescent-Middle East
• Plants & Animals - diffused to the W and to
the E. from here.
-Yang Tse Kiang valleyChina.
2-Indus Valley-Pakistan.
3-Fertile Crescent-Middle East
• Hammurabi 6th Babylonian king
(1728-1686 BC) -"the favorite of
the gods", in front of the throne
of the Sun god Shamash.
• Laws-inscribed
in
Old
Babylonian on tall stela of black
diorite.
• Discovered in December 1901 in
Susa, Elam, which is now
Khuzistan.
MEDICINE WAS BORN IN
THIS LAND
Theophrastus of Lesbos
(Midilli)
BC 371-287
Father of Botany
Hippocrates of Chios (Kos)
BC 460-377
Father of Medicine
Galenus of Pergamon
(Bergama)
AD 130-200
Father of Physicians
Pedanios Dioscorides
of Anazarba (Adana)
1st century AD
Father of Pharmacists
Temple of Aesculapius in
Pergamon (Bergama)
God of Medicine
Pedanius Dioscorides of Anazarbos De medicinali
materia libri
• Seidenstrassen – “silk roads” – is a term
created in 1877 by geologist Ferdinand
Paul Wilhelm von Richthofen, the roads
were of economic importance, used for
1000’s of years before the invention of
silk.
• Probably animal migration routes were
linking the springs & pastures, long
before the emergence of Man & the
establishment of agriculture,
around
11000 BC.
One feature that certainly helped in the self-diffusion of many
plants + animals was - land continuum from Yang Tse Kiang
valley to West Asia, through areas less desert than they are
nowadays.
• Land roads-most ancient in Central Asia:
-northern one, the oldest (cock probably
naturally migrated).
-more southern routes constituted the
diffusion roads for flowers, fruit-trees
& other animals.
-For silk, since the Han dynasty,
historically linked China to the Imperial
Rome + main centre of the west.
• Central Asia: Anau – one of the oldest oases
going back nearly 7000 years to 4500 BC
Kara Kum desert (within the borders of
present day Turkmenistan +Uzbekistan &
Iran + Afghanistan).
• Amu Darya (Oxus) tributaries, in Bactria
(northern
Afghanistan
&
southern
Uzbekistan) & in Margiana (the Murghab
delta of E- Turkmenistan)- a peaceful
economic & cultural complexes. (Sir Darya)
• Northern nomads-settled down all along
the route.
• All as intermediate stops on these roads
since very ancient times :
• Namazga,
Kelleli,
Kalta Minor,
• Gonur Tepe,
• Togolok in Margiana,
• the vast Merv oasis,
• the large complex oases of Niya in the
Tarim Basin.
Kara Kum desert
• Other itinerary was the sea route : the most
recent one dates back to the 1st century of our
era.
• Also, jade of Central Asia arrived in China
very early.
Silk Road- animals strode, plants & precious
products were transported-lapis lazuli, the mines
of which were in Sar-e-Sang-Badakhshan,
Afghanistan, trade dated to 3000 BC.
How did plants travel?
How were they introduced?
• People carried seeds-Cereals, Walnut, Pistachio,
Apricot, Peach, Bulb plants like Narcissus.
• Apple & Citrus, reproduction unpredictable;
young tree or grafts taken.
• Diffusion thus occurred step by steplinked to the acquisition of grafting
techniques (this skill was known since
ancient
times
in
China
and
Mesopotamia).
• Course plants diffused with birds,
rodents; fabrics, clothes, animal furs
held seeds.
• Introductions with tributes:
the ambassador’s gifts-new plant or animal
offered to the emperor of China-had a garden
with many animals+exotic & prestigious plants
(Botanical Garden in Afghanistan-all kinds of
Tulips-Baburname).
• Rich Fergana Valley: 751, General Ziyad ibn
Salih – leader Khurasan army of Abû Muslimdefeated Chinese.
• Prisoners included Chinese silk-weavers + paperworkers-used bark of Broussonetia papyrifera – a
Moraceae + other things for paper.
• Introductions in the Mediterranean before
Greco-Roman times
• Ancient contacts between E & W- presence of
silk on Egyptian mummies, inlays of lapis
lazuli on the mask of Tutankhamun etc.
• Variety of people in Egypt:
Persians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, Cilicians,
Greeks, Jews, all actively trading.
• Far East
connected with Cent. Asia
connected with S & W Asia + the Medit.
• Very ancient introductions include:
cock,
camel,
horse,
rose,
apple,
pistachio,
black mulberry,
pepper
pomegranate,
walnut,
rice
among the main ones.
• Rose
• Rose originated in Central Asia.
• Arrived in China - in the
Medit. only dog rose – Rosa
canina – was known.
• Flower of beauty & fragrancealways carefully cultivated, one
of the
first domesticated,
diffused ornamentals.
• Damascus rose:
Very ancient variety-beautiful
&
fragrant
flower
distilled
was
technique
developed in Syria in the 8th
century, to get the
roses.
attar of
Sweet apple
Malus pumila
• Apple trees bearing edible
fruits
probably
first
occurred in Central or
Western Asia, in very
ancient times.
• Tien Shan Mountainshuge forests of Malus
pumila, whose fruit can be
the size of a child’s head.
Origins & Migration -Sweet Apple
• Only apple native to the forests of
temperate Europe is Malus sylvestris, a
small & very acid fruit gives acid
drink pommata.
• Apple tree lasts the lifetime of its masterlifespan slightly less than 50 -100 years.
Pistacia vera
• Pistachio, from Central Asia-widely diffused,
from Northern Syria to CA : wild pistachio
forests in Kyrgyzstan, slightly below walnut
forests, close to Osh.
• Arabic term fustuk was borrowed from
Persian, which provides evidence for its
Central Asian origin.
Black mulberry Morus nigra
Originated in Central Asia.
Introduced
in
Babylon
where musukânu was highly cultivated
for fruit & excellent wood used in
carpentry.
• Unknown to Theophrastus, but
Dioscorides (AD 40-90) knew it &
named it moron.
• Not related to the cultivation of
silkworm cocoons, as per Yeh-lu Ch’u
Ts’ai who accompanied Genghis Khan
on his expedition to Persia in 12191224.
• Walnut Juglans regia
• Walnut native to Central Asia-still beautiful
forests in Kyrgyzstan, on the mountains
before arriving to Osh.
• Arrived in Persia early, was introduced in
Lebanon and parts of Palestine (Gilead) very
early.
• Theophrastus & Dioscorides
introduced from Persia.
claimed
-
Root Crops
• Vavilov considers Central Asia as the
primary centre of origin for onion &
garlic.
• Workers who built the Egyptian
pyramids may have been fed with
radishes & onions.
• 44 Cultivated alliums, onion (Allium cepa)
& garlic (A. sativum), originated wild in
the large paleo-Iranian area.
• Garlic was known in predynastic Egypt,
long before 3000 BC.
• Onion was popular food in Ancient
Egypt -eaten by pyramid builders since
the first dynasties in 3200-2780 BC.
Pomegranate, Punica granatum
• Origin- Tropical Asia.
• Grown in the hanging gardens of Babylon.
• Mentioned in many passages of the Bible, in
THE HOLY QURAN.
• OLD beliefs referring to femininity & fertility.
• Greek mythology-Aphrodite planted
the first pomegranate.
• Pluto or Hades, god of hell, offered
pomegranate
to
the
beautiful
Persephone.
• Romans knew the fruit - brought it to
Rome, hence its Latin then scientific
name Punica.
Peach
Prunus persica
• Fruit of the Silk Road & the fruit of
Harpocrates, god of silence.
• Native to China -domesticated there
between 3300 & 2500 BC.
• Introduced in Persia around 2nd or 1st.
century BC, hence its name persica.
7th century-Tang court received golden
peaches from Samarkand, “as large as
goose eggs-golden colour”-arrived in
perfect condition through Gobi Desert
to Ch’ang-an, probably packed in
snow as was the case of grape &
watermelon.
Apricot, Prunus armeniaca
• Tien Shan area comprises wild species.
• Native to Central Asia or China.
• History -2200 BC -China -mythical discovery
by the emperor Yu (2205 - 2198 BC).
• Orchards –described in 406 - 250 BC.
• Importance of apricot in China -related to
toponymy : about 11 names of Chinese cities
include the word xing, which means apricot
(preserved by salting & smoking).
• Central
Asia-apricot
naturalised
in
Samarkand & Armenia, no wild apricots in
Armenia - simply the route by which apricots
arrived to the Medit. & Central Europe.
Carrot Daucus carota
• Origin:- Hindu Kush-Himalayan region (KashmirAfghanistan) -centre of diversity for western carrot Anatolia (Turkey).
• Theophrastus describes 2 varieties of daukon, both
are medicines : 1 has black root in Patrai-in Achaia;
1 saffron-coloured.
Taro, Colocasia antiquorum
• Compared with banana.
• Origin:- Oceania.
• First found in Egypt –grown in
flooded areas, origin of the latin name.
• Could have
India?
come
to
Egypt
from
Introductions from the Mediterranean to
Central Asia and the Far East
• Plants in the Far East coming from the
Mediterranean :
• grape vine,
• narcissus,
• garden pea,
• henna.
Grapes: Vitis vinifera
• 2 subspecies : sylvestris of Southern + Central
Europe, NW Africa, W Turkey, and Israel;
• -caucasia found in Bessarabia, S Russia,
Armenia, Caucasia, Anatolia, Iran, Turkestan,
& Kashmir .
• Grown very early in the oases of Central Asia
in Bronze Age times.
• Oases of Niya in the Tarim Basin of the late
Bronze Age had vineyards.
Gonur Tepe populations in Turkmenistan
together with barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp.
hexatistichum), wheat (Triticum aestivum) and
pulse, lentils, chickpeas, grass peas & peas.
Safflower Carthamus tinctorius
• Native to the E. Medit.-a dye plant.
Widely cultivated as natural dye plant(China).
White mulberry Morus alba
• Tall
Chinese
tree
diffused
together
with
Bombyx
that
produces
silk
(Archaeology reveals raw silk made in
Syria in the 4th century AD).
• Used for feeding silkworms-yields fleshy
white fruit.
Rhubarb Rheum rhaponticum
• A vivacious plant up to - 1 m. tall.
• Native to NW China & E Tibet.
• Andalusian scholar Ibn Beitar-Treatise on medicinal
plants in the 14th century- long article on rhubarb by
Ibn Djami– there may be doubts about the presence
& use of rhubarb, unless as a dry trade item.
• Rhubarb root was a medicinal product known in
western countries for its diuretic & laxative
properties.
TEA (Origin China)-Spread to Europe.
Russians spread the culture of tea & samovar
19th century established in Turkey).
(end of
Basils (Ocimum spp.)
• Basils small bushes, with different leaf sizes &
strong varied aromas.
• In India, tulâsi is devoted to Shiva.
• First known by the Persians-diffused by the
Arabs in the Medit., in Greece.
• basilikon is the plant of Christ.
• in Portugal, a pot of basil is offered.
• in some parts of Spain, such as Aragon,
brides carry a protective bouquet in
their vest.
• in southern Italy & North Africa, belief preserves from bad influences.
Sweet marjoram Majorana hortensis
• Origin Central Asia (perennial plant) .
• Evidence in the miniatures of famous
book Taqwîm es-Siha by Ibn Butlân
(Baghdad, 1066), translated into Latin in
the 13th century– one of the most famous
ones being Codex Vindobonensis in
Vienna.
• Always represented as a small shrub in a
flowerpot or in a box needs careful
cultivation.
• Mistaken for the wild species Origanum
vulgare, native to the Medit. & rich in
phenol.
• Sweet marjoram has a less pungent
flavour & aroma than oregano.
Jasmine Jasminum sp.
• From tropical Asia & China.
• Arabs borrowed it from the Persians with its
name yâsmîn-borrowed from India.
• Jasmine & rose, 2 queens of flower perfumes.
• Over 200 species-most common used in
perfumery: J. grandiflorum-“Spanish jasmine”,
J. officinale, native to Iran, & J. odoratissimum.
Eggplant Solanum melongena
• Fruit-vegetable native to tropical Asia.
• First domesticated in India-diffused westward with
the Muslim expansion.
• Persian term bademjan (patlican), was passed on to
Arabs & Turks
Spinach Spinacia oleracea
• Central Asia (Persia, Turkestan, Afghanistan)-known
by the Arabs in Persia-they took its name ispânay,
became isfanaj in Arabic, Ispanak.
Citron Citrus medica
• Origin probably- India, domesticated as lemon arrived in the Medit. much later.
• Only citrus known in the Antique Middle Eastintroduced in Greece around 300 BC by the
soldiers of Alexander.
Theophrastus named it « apple of the Medians ».
Romans named it « malum citreum », later
shortened to « citreum »-name finally set in the
17th century by Linnaeus as « citrus ».
• Bitter orange, Seville orange,
Citrus aurantium
• Originally from South China- early
domesticated in India, confirming its Sanskrit
name nâgaranga.
• Persians borrowed the fruit with its name,
which became nâranj.
• Bitter fruit eaten only when cooked with
honey or sugar ––the flower has a superb
perfume,was widely used when distillation
became popular in the 18th century.
• Almost every house in North Africa has
orange perfume, the homemade azahar,
for sprinkling friends during feasts or
flavouring the many tiny cakes.
Lemon
Citrus limonium
• From East India and South Chinaarrived in the Mediterranean.
• Fruit keeps well due to thicker skin;
seeds hold their germination power for
a long time; the plant is easily grafted.
• Arabs knew it in Persia- borrowed its
Persian name lîmûn.
• Ideal
for
making
soft drinks –
lemonade, used in cookery.
• Al-Tignarî - one of the first to
mention the cultivation of lîmûn with
citron utruj and bitter orange nâranj.
• Citrus sinensis- Sweet orange arrived in the Medit. very
late- brought from China by the Portuguese, therefore
named portogal, bortogal in the Middle East.
• Later mandarins arrived -accurately named Citrus
deliciosus.
• Photo 1. A shadek tree -French Guyana
• Photo 2 Shadek, big green mandarina of the tropics and
small strongly perfumed gombawa
Hollyhock Althaea rosea
• Origin
how?
China -diffused through silk roads,
• Arrived in the Western Medit. -end of Middle
Ages ; flower with 3 different coloured
varieties – white, red , black.
• guli khaira - Persian name, one of the most
depicted on Persian miniatures with white &
red flower varieties.
Weeping willow Salix babylonica
• Linnaeus named it according to the
legend of the weeping Jews, slaves in
Babylon.
• Native to China.
• Medit.- many species of Salix.
• Bark rich in salicin- component
aspirin.
of
• Tree grown in many humid places of
the Near East, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria,
Jordan, Israel, Palestine + Western
Medit.
Henna Lawsonia inermis
• Henna-native to Southwest Asia, name
Indo-Aryan origin.
• Present in the Antiquity of Egypt in 2
forms : perfume from the flowers &
red dye from the leaves.
Map of diffusion of the henna in
time and space
• Mummy - hair, feet + hands dyed
with pouker, the Egyptian name for
henna.
• Dye was well-known in Greek & Roman
Antiquity.
• Islamic societies have used it as a tint,
especially in marriage rituals (7th
century).
• Cherished by Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
• henna gave its name
vulgare : aleña in Spain.
to
Ligustrum
• India + probably SE Asia, people knew the
ancient use of hand dying before the arrival of
henna-it competed with indigenous dye plants
but, as a valuable tint- widely introduced &
even entered the Chinese, Vietnamese +
Indian pharmacopoeia.
Garden pea Pisum sativum
• Garden pea is native to SW Asiagrown in the 7th. millennium BC in
the Fertile Crescent.
• Diffused to India first -reached China
around 1000 CE by way of the
Himalayas & Tibet.
Date Phoenix dactylifera
• Domesticated in Mesopotamia & NW
India.
• Tree imported from Persia to Canton, &
the fruit was named “Persian jujube”
due to its resemblance to this Chinese
fruit.
Fig Ficus carica
• Native to W Asia- cultivated very early in the
Jordan valley in the 9th millennium BC,
arrived in Egypt together with grape vine in
the 3rd millennium.
• Unknown when it was imported into China,
but in the 9th century, fig was among the
many fruits eaten by the Chinese.
Narcissus tazetta Narcissus spp.
• Native to the Eastern Medit.introduced in China from Anatolia
probably through the silk roads.
• Traveller Tuan Ch’eng-Shih from Tang
times (618-907) spoke of narcissus
naming it nai-gi, probably from the
Persian term nârgis.
• Poets sang it, painters painted and drew it, and
potters made precious goblets to grow it.
• Forced cultivation of bulbs provides flowers
in winter.
• Traditional New Year flower in China,
Vietnam , Iran.
• Fragrance symbolises the purity of heart &soulstraight & narrow leaves represent integrity.
• Expansion of Muslims has played a key part
in the introduction of many plants :
originating from the Far East through roads
of CA , white mulberry & much later, sweet
orange, hollyhock, weeping willow, tea ,
rhubarb, sweet marjoram, basils.
• Arabs found spinach in CA & in the South,
plants that had previously been imported
from India : sugar cane, eggplant, jasmine,
Seville orange, lemon.
• They borrowed them all with their Persian
names.
• Medit. plants were introduced in China,
probably through the silk road : narcissus
tazetta and garden pea.
• Arabs & Persians brought henna to their
settlements in Southern China-essential to
their social & religious cultures + date & fig –
2 basic fruits of their traditional food.