protected with an array of several biochemical
defenses.
Lentils, broad beans, peas, and chick peas
are all native to the Fertile Crescent of the
Near East. They were adapted for sprouting
and quickly reproducing in the cool, wet
season before the summer drought, and were
the first substantial foods to ripen in the
spring. The soy and mung beans were
indigenous to Asia, and peanuts, lima beans,
and common beans to the Americas.
Nuts The nuts (from an Indo-European root
meaning “compressed”) come from several
different plant families, not just one. They are
generally large seeds enclosed in hard shells,
and borne on long-lived trees. The seeds are
large both to make them attractive to animal
dispersers (which bury some for later use and
effectively plant the ones they forget), and to
give the seedling an adequate food supply for
slow, prolonged growth in the partial shade.