Jack Rodney Harlan

I read Chapter 7, The Americas, because it was the section on the food crops that I'm most interested in. He covers the origins and interrelationships of a number of crops quite well but not too deeply so as to lose the interest of the nonacademic reader. Two paragraphs on sunflowers is not enough but I believe there's a whole book written by Heiser on sunflowers. I found the part about teosinte and maize to be a good explanation of their relationship, the explanation of sweet potato (Ipomoea) vs yam (Dioscorea) to be clear. I would like to find a book that expands this chapter and adds more of the obscure food crops and definitely more on the fruits, herbs and spices of this hemisphere.… (mais)