Plants for food I:

For survival
UGEB 2350
 Origin of Agriculture
Plants for Treasure & Pleasure
 Agriculture and Manipulation C.-M. Chow
 Plants as food (Cherry)
SC EG01B
 Cereal
 Legume family 3943 4465
cmchow@cuhk.edu.hk
 Origin of Agriculture
 hunter-gatherers

http://www.smutheory.com/Brooke%20Morgan/

Mankind has been a farmer for

0.5% of human history.

Human history Domestication/cultivation

http://www.ecifm.rdg.ac.uk/history.htm 2
Ox-drawn plow, Egypt, ca. 1200 BCE.
 穀物女神 神農

 A punishment
 A revolution
 A gradual cultural
evolution

http://www.art.com/products/p10041326-sa-i849331/lucas-cranach-the-elder-adam-and-
eve.htm?aff=conf&ctid=969060001&rfid=688400&tkid=15052643&

Agriculture

Human Evolution of
culture domesticated
organisms
3
 Brassica
oleracea

http://www.learner.org/cours
es/essential/life/session5/clo
ser1.html

羽衣甘藍 西蘭花 大頭菜 捲心菜 花椰菜

球芽甘藍
4
 Evolution Under Domestication

 Artificial selection 人工選擇

(vs. Natural selection 天擇)
 Line selection
 Plant selective breeding by cross-
pollination (異花受粉)

x =

Watermint x Spearmint Peppermint

5
 Tomato Cross Pollination
Cross-pollination http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acVHJBKlUIE

(異花受粉) (自花授粉)

 mother  mother
≠father =father
6
Plant breeding by Cross-pollination
 Hybrid corn 雜交玉蜀黍
 Hybrid rice 雜交稻米

7
Are they the Same?

天
物競 擇
人 8
 Domesticated plants are different from
their wild counterparts

Shattering (使散開) fruiting heads vs Non-shattering fruiting heads

Optimum
Seed Dispersal

http://cyberreading.pixnet.net/blog/post/22462367

http://naturet.ngo.org.tw/notes/mon07.jpg

Cereal (穀類): wild-type vs cultivars

9
 Domesticated plants are different from
their wild counterparts

 Other selected traits

 Size of seeds, fruits or tubers
 Numbers of grains for cereal
plants Six-rowed
Two-rowed
Seed dormancy (冬眠,潛伏) wild barley domesticated barley


 Sensitivity to day length

 Uniform development

10
 wheat小麥
oats燕麥
Cereal (穀物)

rice稻米

barley大麥

corn玉黍蜀

 Cultivated grasses, edible

grains 穀粒
 Grass family (禾本科; Poaceae)

11
 (花瓣)
petal anther
stamen sepal
filament
(雄蕊) petal

stigma
carpel/
style pistil stigma anthers

sepal ovary (雌蕊)

style
(萼片)

What does the grass

flower look like?
12
 麥穗 (Spike)

Spikelet:
‘Flowers’ of Grass 小穗狀花;小穗

 Grass flowers (florets)

 Compound inflorescence
(複合花序)
 Highly reduced
 Wind pollination

A Grass Floret小花

Ovary

Lemma
外穎
Palea 內穎

Bracts 苞片
 Cereal Grains The bran (糠)
•Rich in fiber
•Fused seed coat (種子皮)
穀粒 (穎果) + ovary wall (子房壁)

 The single ovary  a fruit

The aleurone layer (糊粉層) A

key role in breaking down the
endosperm starch during
germination

The endosperm (胚乳)

Energy store; mainly
starch with small amounts
of protein

The embryo/germ (胚芽)

Proteins, fats and vitamins
Maize (corn, 玉蜀黍/玉米)

15
 Zea mays subsp. mays
Maize 

 Grass family

Silk(長鬚) ♂雄穗 Male

inflorescences

♀雌穗 Female
inflorescences
Ears

Husks外皮
cob

16
 17
http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/PPDL/weeklypics/9-6-04.html
 Maize: origin unclear until
recent decades
 Cultivated
 4700 years
 Southern Mexico
 Giant husked ears
 unlike any wild grass

Modern
maize

18
 Wild ancestor of Maize
 Closest relative of maize: teosinte (Zea mays subsp.
parviglumis): Proposed to be modern maize’s parent

Modern maize x
Teosinte teosinte
maize
hybrid

Fertile(能繁殖的) offspring
~ 7000-year-old archeological specimen 19
Wild ancestor of bract  Small and few seeded ears
Hard fruitcase grains
Maize:


 Not enclosed by husks: shattering (散

開) at maturity
Teosinte-like
bran

http://proj1.sinica.edu.tw/~hastwww/fruitpage/corn.html

http://www.physorg.com/news4301.html
Teosinte Modern maize

http://www.bio- 20
nica.info/biblioteca/Buckler2005MaizeO
http://hila.webcentre.ca/research/teosinte/teosinte_macro/index.html rigins.pdf
 Wild ancestor of Maize:
Teosinte-like

 Artificial
selection
 Mutations
A teosinte-like Modern
ancient plants maize

21
 Ethanol: a key corn product
Value of Maize
 Vegetable
 Food products
 Animal feed
 Biofuel (bioethanol)
 Processed commercially for
industrial applications (PLA)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6481029.stm

http://www.ilcorn.org/internal.php?subj=corn%20p
roducts&menu=products&banner=corn_prod

Corn
Corn flakes
粟米片 Grilled corn Canned corn

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7525613.stm
Corn starch
粟粉

Corn oil http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html

Corn syrup
粟米糖漿
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8092991.stm
22
 NatureWorks® PLA: plant-based polymers
(brand name: Ingeo™ natural plastic)

Future plastics: made from surplus

corn instead of imported oil

 Corn: high in plant starch/sugars, cheap

and abundant in the United States
 Consumes between 30%-50% less fossil
fuel
 Less overall carbon dioxide emissions
 Fully compostable http://www.natureworksllc.com/t
he-ingeo-journey.aspx

CO2 + H2O  Starch  Sugar  Lactic acid  Polylactide polymer (PLA)

Photosynthesis
Fermentation
23
http://www.natureworksllc.com/The-Ingeo-Journey/Eco-Profile-and-LCA/How-its-Made.aspx
http://www.natureworksllc.com/The-Ingeo-Journey/Eco-Profile-and-
LCA/~/media/The_Ingeo_Journey/EcoProfile_LCA/HowItsMade/NatureWorks_How_Ingeo_is_Made_poster_pdf.pdf

24
 Rice (稻米)
 Grains of Oryza sativa
 Chewy and wet texture
 More than 2 billions (20億) people
rely on rice as a dietary staple

 In China: a major crop for at

least 8000 years
 In India: cultivated for a long
time: 11,500 years
 In Europe: only first mentioned
1700 years ago
 First arrival to US: 1695
 Australia: a current large rice
producer: began commercial
cultivation in 1925
25
一碗飯裡頭的米到底有幾粒?
A. 400
B. 1000
C. 2500
D. 4400
E. 50000

撒米儀式

26
 Rice Races
 Two principle races
 indica type
 long-grain 長粒米
 cooked rice
 relatively dry
 separate easily from one another
 sativa or japonica type
 short-grain 短粒米
 cooked rice
 quite soft
 often slightly gluey

http://agrapp.coa.gov.tw/RICE/index.htm

http://www.aboutrice.com/downloads/rice_varieties.pdf
27
 Rice Farming
Guangxi, China

Paddy rice (wet rice;水稻) •Upland rice (陸稻)

•Requires lots of rain
Most rice
Grows in standing water (5-10cm)

 Rice needs large quantities of water to grow well!

 lowland tropical? periodic flooding 28
 Oxygen in air
Oxygen
Paddy Rice(水稻)

Air spaces

A cross section
of the root of
rice plants
Little oxygen

29
Advantages of Paddy Azolla sp

field farming
 The standing water
 Decay of remaining plant
materials
 Terrestrial weed plants (雜草)
 A ‘beneficial weed’ (Azolla sp.)
 Green fertilizer (綠肥)
 Fixed nitrogen (固定態的氮)

Nitrogen (氮; N2)  Ammonia (阿摩尼亞; NH3;

plant usable form)

30
 Rice grains 稻穀 brown rice糙
米 polished rice白米
白米
The loss of the bran
Unpolished rice with bran Polished rice
(糠) and germ (胚芽)

http://www.thaifood.food-recipe-cooking.com/brown-rice-06.htm

糙米

expiry date
31
 Rice grains 稻穀 brown rice糙米 polished rice白米
「脫穎而出」 Removal of husk

Ovary

Lemma
外穎
Palea 內穎

糠層
bran husk/hull

aleurone
layer

糙米 白米
Milled rice with embryo
endosperm
米的解剖與米薄片標本製作
http://a-chien.blogspot.com/2008/05/blog-post_14.html
embryo/
RICE (SunRice)
germ 32
http://www.sunrice.com.au/uploads//documents/education/SunRiceGrainPoster.pdf
 Milled rice
Brown rice White rice
with embryo
熱量(仟卡) 351 354 356
蛋白質(克) 7.4 7.0 6.8
脂質(克)
3.0 2.0 1.3
Lipid
醣類(克) 71.8 74.4 75.7
纖維(克)
1.0 0.4 0.12
Fiber
維生素B1
0.54 0.3 0.12
Vitamin B1

http://agrapp.coa.gov.tw/RICE/index.htm

All About Australian Rice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQHjjmIVjTU

 Switching from brown rice to
polished rice
 Polished rice:
 Loss of nutrient
 Beriberi 腳氣病

維 他 命 功 能 食 物 來 源 缺 乏 症 狀 過 量 症 狀

維 他 命 B1 幫助碳 水化合 全 麥 穀 物 、 腳氣病 不普遍

物和蛋 白質的 魚 類 、 肉
新陳代 謝，令 類 、 各 類
身體從 食物中 精神欠佳、失
蔬 菜 、 豆 眠、嘔吐
獲得能 量 類 、 酵 母
幫助神 經系
神經系統毛
統、心 臟、肌
病、抑鬱
肉，消 化系統
正常運 作
促進成 長及發 兒童生長受阻
育
http://www.studenthealth.gov.hk/tc_chi/health/health_dn/health_dn_vit.html 34
Legume family (Fabaceae, 豆科)

peanuts soybeans
peas

Mimosa pudica
clover 三葉草 (含羞草(又稱touch-me-not)) Indigofera tinctoria 木藍 35
 Characteristics Legume family
 The fruit
(Fabaceae; 豆科)
 a pod/ a legume
 one row of seeds

 The seed
 two prominent food-storing
cotyledons (子葉)
 Rich in protein and oil
36
 Legume family (Fabaceae; 豆科)
 The flower of some legume
plants
 five-petaled
 butterfly-shaped or boat-
shaped
 showy

Common Pacific Pea

Lathyrus vestitus var. vestitus
The yellow bush lupine Lupinus
arboreus

37
 Legume family (Fabaceae; 豆科)
 Protein
 close to animal meat in quality
 often called ‘poor man’s meat’
 inexpensive source of high quality protein
 Legume root nodules containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Soy beans Red kidney

beans
红腰豆
Edamame
(green soybeans)枝豆

Black-eyed Black beans Red beans

38
peas眉豆 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/legumes/NU00260
 Legume root nodules containing
nitrogen-fixing bacteria
 The presence of root nodules containing nitrogen-
fixing bacteria (Rhizobium sp.)
 High protein content of legumes
 Cultivated world-wide including the poorest soils
 ‘Green manure' crop (綠肥作物)
 Enriches the soil with fixed nitrogen
 Crop rotation

https://www.britannica.com/plant/Fabaceae 39
 Soybeans 大豆
 Soybeans (US)/ Soyabeans (UK)
 Glycine max
 Legume family (Fabaceae豆;科)
 Domesticated in northern China at least
3000 years ago

 Consumed raw?
 The presence of a trypsin inhibitor (胰蛋白酶抑制物)
 Trypsin: a digestive enzyme
 Inactivated by heat

40
 Soybeans 大豆
 Rich in oil and protein ~ lean beef (瘦牛肉)
 Suitable for lactose-intolerant (不耐乳糖症) individual

Tofutti (豆腐凍)
(an ice cream-
like desert)

A soy milk based

cream cheese
alternative

41
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

42
 Bean curd (tofu) Soy meat

Soy milk (豆漿) Miso (味噌)

Soy sauce (a traditional Japanese Sushi made
“綠色牛奶” (醬油) food produced by from soybeans
fermenting rice, barley
and/or soybeans) 43
 (阿氏老年痴呆症,認知障礙症)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1257583.stm phytoestrogens; 植物雌激素 Story/0,,1828158,00.html

More recent references: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/soy/

 Steamed okara Fermentation Food ingredient
(better nutritional value and
(豆渣)
 enhanced flavour)
(unpleasant smell) a combination of natural
microorganisms and enzymes
https://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2017/11/22/Waste-from-soy-milk-and-tofu-production-turned-into-high-value-ingredient-by-Singapore- 45
scientists
 Soy candle from
soy wax

 Soy candles
 Oil extraction from soybean +
hydrogenation (氫化)
 Benefits:
 Renewable; sustainable
 All-natural; eco-friendly
 Burn cleanly (less soot) and slowly
 Wax spills: easy to clean
 Mixed with fragrances: Scented
soy candles Soy protein fiber
BEGINNER https://www.zsfabrics.com/st
CANDLE MAKING ore/c95/Organic_Soybean_F
WITH SOY WAX abric.html

46
https://www.candlescience.com/learning/what-is-soy-wax
 Summary
 Origin of Agriculture
 Agriculture and Manipulation
 Artificial selection Major References &
 Brassica oleracea Further Readings
 Domesticated plants vs wild counterparts

 Plants as food  Levetin & McMahon. Plants and

 Cereal Society (6th Edition). McGraw-Hill,
Boston. [UL: QK47 .L48 2012 ; QK47 .L48
 Grass family
1996/1999/2003/2008 for older editions]
 Maize  Chapter 11 Origins of Agriculture.
 Silk, husk  Chapter 12 The Grasses
 Teosinte
 Rice  Simpson BB. Ogorzally MC (2001)
 Paddy rice Economic Botany (3rd Edition).
 From grains to white rice McGraw-Hill, Boston. [UL: SB108.U5
 Legume family S56 1995 for older edition]
Chapter 5 Cereal Grains and Forage
Rich in proteins


Grasses.
 Root nodules containing nitrogen-
fixing bacteria
 Soybeans

47