Most food plants are not long-lived trees, but
relatively small, delicate plants that produce
their seeds and die in one growing season.
This herbaceous habit gives plants greater
flexibility in adapting to changing conditions,
and it has worked to our advantage as well. It
allows us to grow crops to maturity in a few
months, change plantings from year to year,
rapidly breed new varieties, and eat plant
parts that would be inedible were they
toughened to endure for years. Herbaceous
plants became widespread only in the last few
million years, just as the human species was
emerging. They made possible our rapid
cultural development, and we in turn have
used selection and breeding to direct their
biological development. We and our food
plants have been partners in each other’s
evolution.
Definitions