The Natural History of Colonial Science: Joseph-François Lafitau's Discovery of Ginseng and Its Afterlives

Parsons, Christopher M.

doi:10.5309/willmaryquar.73.1.0037

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The 18 th century was also a period of forced relocation of many African peoples to North America and they carried with them seed material and the knowledge to cultivate non-native agricultural crops such as okra ( Abelmoschus esculentus ), sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor ), and watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ) (Sousa and Raizada 2020). Concurrently, European settlers were learning from Native Americans about the uses of native plants and several of these native plant species, most notably American ginseng ( Panax quinquefolia ) and tobacco ( Nicotiana rustica ), were being incorporated as commodities within global trading networks (Hofstra and Mitchell 1993; Parsons 2016). Ornamental plants were also entering trans-Atlantic trade routes at unprecedented numbers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-native plants observed in North America by 18^thcentury naturalists

et al. 2023

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Writings of 18th century naturalists provide a rich description of the flora, agricultural practices, and ecological and cultural landscape during the migration of large numbers of European and African peoples to North America. We employed a mixed methods approach to: 1) compare the percentages of non-native vs. native plant species recorded by the naturalists; 2) quantify the relative frequency of non-native plant species across eastern North America; and 3) qualitatively evaluate descriptions of non-native plants. The writings from nine naturalists in the 1700s document the introduction and establishment of many non-native plants across the North America. Higher proportions of non-native plant species were reported by naturalists who spent more time in densely populated human settlements. Agricultural crops had the highest relative frequencies for non-native plants in the 18th century. Non-native plants were described as being used during daily activities by humans, undergoing cultivation, growing abundantly on the landscape, and having weedy growth characteristics. Several of the non-native plants observed in the 1700s have subsequently developed into invasive species, which threaten the conservation of native North American flora.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%