OUB CULTIVATED PLANTS 281 



probably been derived from a wild species growing in the 

 same region. Beans, at least the common varieties, have come 

 from South America. The soy bean and cowpea are natives 

 of China. 



Solanaceous fruits. Several edible fruits are produced by 

 the nightshade family (Solanaceae). This family contains 

 many poisonous species, though the fruits are usually edible. 

 In addition to the food plants, the family contains the tobacco 

 plant and the petunia. Of the species grown for their fruits 

 the tomato takes first place, although the latest of the group 

 to be used as food. Less than a hundred years ago it was re- 

 garded as poisonous and was grown only for ornament under 

 the name of love apple. The tomato is still found wild in its 

 native land, Peru, but is now grown almost the world over. 

 The fruit has been greatly increased in size by cultivation. 

 The red pepper, husk tomato, and eggplant are relatives of the 

 tomato. The first two are of American origin ; the last is said 

 to be a native of southwestern Asia. The ivonderberry, or 

 garden huckleberry, is a species of nightshade developed from 

 a common weed in the central and western states. It may be 

 mentioned in this connection that the potato is the enlarged 

 underground stem of another species of nightshade. 



Gourd fruits. Some species of the gourd family are poison- 

 ous or unfit for food, but the group also contains a large num- 

 ber of edible species. They all have long and weak stems that 

 spread out over the ground or climb on other plants, trellises, 

 and the like. The cucumber is one of the oldest of this group 

 in cultivation, having been known in China for quite three 

 thousand years. The melons are natives of Africa. The water- 

 melon still grows wild in central Africa, and the muskmelon 

 extends eastward and northward to western Asia. The pump- 

 kin is a native of America, and was cultivated by the Indian 

 in his cornfields at the time of the discovery of the continent, 

 just as it is still cultivated. 



