THE ORIGIN OF GARDEN PLANTS AND THE FSU CONTRIBUTION
The Mediterranean Center
The Mediterranean is perhaps, the most important of all the
centers because it is linked to the civilizations of antiquity. This
territory involves Vavilov's Mediterranean center for economic plants
and includes Mediterranean Floristic Region, adjacent parts of the
Irano-Turanien and the Circumboreal Floristic Regions. The Mediterranean
range has given rise to more than 1,000 ornamental species, which is
about 20% of the total of common garden plants in cultivation. In fact,
the Mediterranean Center has produced more commercial plant species (for
temperate zones) than any other region. These plants have been subjected
to prolonged selection and nurtured by many factors, including favourable
climatic conditions and human influences. The Mediterranean plants alone
have developed an enormous diversity of cultivars whose ancestral forms
are now very difficult to trace. Long before the Christian era, many
gardens of the Mediterranean were already famous for their exotic and
local plants.
The most popular commercial plants native to the Mediterranean Center
include the following: daffodil (Narcissus hybida hort.), hyacinth
(Hyacinths hybrida hort.), sowbread (Cyclamen), stock
(Matthiola incana), mignonette (Reseda odorata), iris
(Iris hybrida hort.), some carnations (Dianthus), garden
pansy (Viola x wittrockiana). Many woody species, widely
used in landscaping came from the Mediterranean Center. The common horse
chestnut (Aesculus hyppocastanum) is a native of the Balkan
Peninsula, laurel (Laurus nobilis) grows wild in many Mediterranean
areas, and oleander (Nerium oleander) is native to the Mediterranean
coast. Although it is difficult to determine which plants were pioneers
in cultivation, some information is available. For example, it is known
that Lilium candidum has been cultivated from very early times
because its depiction can still be seen among the ruins in ancient Egyptian
architecture of the 21st century B.C. Later on, artists used the Lily to
represent the Annunciation, and with its white petals symbolizing the purity
of the Virgin Mary, it soon came to be known as the "Madonna Lily".
The Gardens of Thuthmos III at Karnak in Upper Egypt were known in the
15th century B.C. In the earliest historical times, there were
luxuriant gardens, with alleys of palm and fig (Ficus carica),
vineyards, and flower beds with cornflowers (Centaurea) and poppies
(Papaver). The Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), great
double windflower (Anemone coronaria), cupid's dart (Catananche
caerulea) and peony (Paeonia officinalis) have also been
cultivated in the Mediterranean. Leaves of acanthus (Acanthus
spinosissimus) are known to have provided inspiration the Greek
sculptor, Callimachus, who incorporated them into his design for the tops
of the Corinthian columns in the 5th century B.C. Many ornamental
plants are beautifully represented in Pompeian frescoes. There, in delicate
details, the visitor can still see daffodils, iris, myrtle, oleander and
poppies, providing visible evidence that these ornamentals were in cultivation
before 59 A.D.
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