A Look Back at the Evolution of Greens | Plants And Animals labroots.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from labroots.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Delicious to some, but a bitter bane to others taste buds, vegetables like broccoli rabe, bok choy and turnips are a dinner staple and picky eater conflict around the world.
It all likely started in the mountains near present-day Afghanistan, where humans first domesticated turnips 3,500 to 6,000 years ago, according to a new study recently published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Date Time
First we tamed turnips. Then we turned them into bok choy and other veggies
Nine examples of domesticated Brassica rapa, a single species that humans have bred into root vegetables like turnips, leafy greens like bok choy, and oil seeds. Illustration by Alex McAlvay
Humans likely domesticated turnips near the Hindu Kush mountains, near present day Afghanistan, 3,500 to 6,000 years ago before spreading them east and west and breeding them into related vegetables like bok choy and broccoli rabe.
This is according to new research representing the most complete look yet at how humans domesticated the ubiquitous species Brassica rapa. The findings untangle the complex web of domestication in this species, which can help researchers better understand evolution in general. They may also provide information for preserving important genetic resources as climate change and new pests threaten some crops.
Grow Together with multi-county garden seminar
The Growing Together Western Wisconsin 2021 Spring Garden Seminar is open to the public with virtual presentations in February and March. Written By: Rebecca C. Mariscal | 3:47 pm, Feb. 8, 2021 ×
Melinda Myers will lead the Feb. 27, 2021, session of Growing Together, a spring garden seminar offered virtually over four weekends. Submitted photo
The St. Croix Valley Master Gardeners have partnered with other associations in Barron, Chippewa, Dunn and Eau Claire counties to put on an annual gardening seminar this year in February and March.
Typically the St. Croix Valley Master Gardeners, made up of members from Pierce and St. Croix counties, have held an annual, in-person seminar, but the COVID-19 pandemic canceled last year’s event and prompted a new format for this year.