American Plants
AMERICAN PLANTS
American plants are broadly defined as those plants native to North, Central, and South America as well as the Caribbean islands. When the Europeans first arrived in the Western Hemisphere in 1492, they discovered an abundance of indigenous foods unknown to Europe. Many of these plants had been cultivated by the Native Americans for hundreds of years and had provided for their subsistence. Some of these indigenous plants became staples in European and U.S. diets such as maize (corn), sweet potatoes, potatoes, peppers, plantains, pineapples, wild rice, squash, tomatoes, cacao (chocolate beans), peanuts, cashews, and tobacco. Moreover, because early explorers transported these plants back to Europe, their cultivation spread to suitable climates around the world.
See also: Corn, Potatoes, Rice, Tobacco