Читать книгу Harlan's Crops and Man - H. Thomas Stalker - Страница 15

Gathering peoples are evidently attracted to Leguminosae of various kinds. Whole pods may be used, as well as seeds only, pods only, or even the tissues inside the pods surrounding the seeds. Some legumes have edible tubers and others have leaves or young shoots suitable for pot‐herbs. Not infrequently the material harvested is poisonous and must be detoxified before use. Poisonous materials can be used for stunning fish, stupefying emus, or making poison arrows.

As with the Gramineae, certain genera appear frequently on plant lists and several distinct species of a given genus may be used in different parts of the world. Genera with wide distributions may be very widely used. For example, many species of Acacia are exploited in Australia, several are used in Africa and Asia, but only a few are used in the Americas. More species of Prosopis (mesquite) are used in the Americas, however, than in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Different species of Canavalia are harvested in Central and South America and in Southeast Asia and Australia. Vigna and Dolichos are widely exploited in Africa, Asia, and Australia while several species of Phaseolus are harvested in the Americas. Tephrosia spp. have been used for fish poisons on five continents.