The cucurbits of Mediterranean antiquity: Identification of taxa from ancient images and descriptions

Annals of Botany

Volumn 100, Issue 7, 2007, Pages 1441-1457

  Janick, Jules ^a   Paris, Harry S ^b   Parrish, David C ^a  

^a PURDUE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b VOLCANI CENTER   (Israel)

Author keywords

Bryonia alba; Bryonia dioica; Citrullus colocynthis; Citrullus lanatus; Columella; Cucumis melo; Cucumis sativus; De Materia Medica; De Re Rustica; Dioscorides; Ecballium elaterium; Historia Naturalis; Lagenaria siceraria; Mishna; Plant iconography; Pliny; Tosefta

Indexed keywords

DICOTYLEDON; ICONOGRAPHY; MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT;

CANTALOUPE; CLASSIFICATION; CROP; CUCUMBER; GENETICS; HISTOLOGY; HISTORY; PAINTING; PHYLOGENY; REVIEW; SOUTHERN EUROPE;

CROPS, AGRICULTURAL; CUCUMIS MELO; CUCUMIS SATIVUS; CUCURBITACEAE; HISTORY, ANCIENT; HISTORY, MEDIEVAL; MEDITERRANEAN REGION; PAINTINGS; PHYLOGENY;

BRYONIA; BRYONIA ALBA; BRYONIA DIOICA; CITRULLUS COLOCYNTHIS; CITRULLUS LANATUS; CITRULLUS LANATUS VAR. LANATUS; COLUMELLA; CUCUMIS; CUCUMIS MELO; CUCUMIS SATIVUS; ECBALLIUM ELATERIUM; LAGENARIA SICERARIA; MELO; LUFFA AEGYPTIACA;

EID: 36448941244     PISSN: 03057364     EISSN: 10958290     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcm242     Document Type: Review

References (77)

1. Åkerstöm-Hougen G. 1974. The calendar and hunting mosaics of the Villa of the Falconer in Argos: a study in early Byzantine iconography. Stockholm: Skrifter Utgivna av Svenska Institutet I Athen 4, XXIII, col. pl.2-2 after p. 40, pp. 54, 80-81, p. 138, fig. 75.4.
2. Álvarez Martínez JM, et al. 2000. Museo Naciónal de Arte Romano. Madrid: Electra, pp. 102, 103.
3. Amar Z. 2000. Giddule Erez-Yisrael bime habenayim [Agricultural produce of the Land of Israel in the Middle Ages.]. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 288.
4. Amar Z, Hazot I. 2003. Avattiah hapaqqu'a bekhalkalat ha'ir 'Azza ba'et hahadasha [Colocynth in the economy of the city of Gaza in modern times]. Qorot 16: 103-119.
5. Andrews AC. 1958. Melons and watermelons in the classical era. Osiris 12: 368-375.
6. Ash HB. (ed. transl.) 1941. Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella: on Agriculture I-IV. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 148-151.
7. Baggio M, De Paoli M, Lachin MT, Salvadori M, Roso S. 1995. I mosaici romani di Tunisia. Paris: CNRS Editions, 236.
8. Balmelle C, et al. 1990. Xenia: Recherches franco-tunisiennes sur la mosaïque de l'Afrique antique, I. Rome: Collection de l'Ecole Française de Rome, 125, p. 48, col. pl. 11.3, upper right, pp. 60-61, fig. 61, lower left corner, pp. 63, 65, fig. 68, pp. 87, 88, fig. 82.
9. Baratte F. 1978. Catalogue des mosaïques romaines et paléchretiénnes du musée du Louvre, Paris, pp. 138, 141, fig. 145-3.
10. Bates DM, Robinson RW. 1995. Cucumbers, melons and water-melons. In: Smartt J, Simmonds NW, eds. Evolution of crop plants, 2nd edn. Harlow, UK: Longman, 89-96.
11. Beck LY (ed. transl.) 2005. Pedanius Dioscorides of Anazarbus: De Materia Medica. Hildesheim, Germany: Olms-Weidmann.
12. Blanchard-Lemée M, Ennaïfer M, Slim H, Slim L. 1995. Sols de l'Afrique romaine: Mosaïques de Tunisie. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale Editions, pp. 49, 52-53, fig. 25, pp. 72-73, 84. figs. 47, 53.
13. Bliquez LJ. 1994. Roman surgical instruments and other minor objects in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Mainz: Verlag Philipp Von Zabern. Ill. 5, 7.
14. Burger Y, Saar U, Katzir N, Paris HS, Yeselson Y, Levin I, Schaffer AA. 2002. A single recessive gene for sucrose accumulation in Cucumis melo fruit. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 127: 938-943.
15. de Candolle A. 1886. Origin of cultivated plants. New York: D. Appleton, 245-274.
16. Chester KS. (transl.) 1951. The origin, variation, immunity and breeding of cultivated plants: selected writings of N. I. Vavilov. Waltham, MA: Chronica Botanica.
17. Dalby A. 2003. Food in the ancient world from A to Z. London: Routledge.
18. Darby WJ, Ghalioungui P, Grivetti L. 1977. Food: the gift of Osiris, Vol. 2. London: Academic, fig. 17.3, pp. 691-695, 717-718, 780-783.
19. Der Wiener Dioskurides. 1998, 1999. Graz: Akademische Druck-u Verlagsanstalt, Vol. 1: 79r, 82r, 190v; Vol. 2, 298v.
20. Einarson B, Link GKK (ed. transl.) 1976. Theophrastus De Causis Plantarium I. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 76.
21. Eisendrath ER. 1961. Portraits of plants. A limited study of the 'icones'. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 48: 291-327.
22. Feliks J. 1967. Kil'e zera'im weharkava, massekhet kil'ayim [Seed crossing and grafting]. Tel Aviv: Devir.
23. Feliks J. 1968. 'Olam hazomeah hamiqra'i [Plant world of the Bible], 2nd edn. Ramat Gan: Massada.
24. Feliks Y. 1979. Talmud Yerushalmi: Massekhet Shevi'it [The Jerusalem Talmud: Tractate Shevi'it]. Jerusalem: Zur-Ot Press, 75-77, 165-167, 173-175, 401.
25. Feliks Y. 2005. Talmud Yerushalmi: Massekhet Ma'asrot [The Jerusalem Talmud: Tractate Ma'asrot]. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, pp. 39-40, 55-57, 62-67, 287, 303.
26. Fisch H. (ed. transl.) 1992. The holy scriptures. The Jerusalem Bible. Jerusalem: Koren, 172.
27. Forster ES, Heffner EH. (ed. transl.) 1955. Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella: On Agriculture X-XII. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 26-27, 40-43, 159-163.
28. Gerard J, [Gerarde J.] 1597. The herball or generall historie of plantes. London: Bollifant, 765.
29. Goldman A. 2002. Melons for the passionate grower. New York: Artisan, pp. 24-25, 36, 112-114.
30. Gove PB. (ed.) 1967. Webster's seventh new collegiate dictionary. Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam.
31. Gray A, Trumbull JH. 1883. Review of DeCandolle's origin of cultivated plants. American Journal of Science 25: 370-379.
32. Gunther RT. 1959. The Greek herbal of Dioscorides: Illustrated by a Byzantine A.D. 512. Englished by John Goodyer A.D. 1655, Edited and First Printed A.D. 1933. New York: Hafner.
33. Gyulai G, Humphreys M, Lagler R, Szabo Z, Toth Z, Bittsanszky A, et al. 2006. Seed remains of common millet from the 4th (Mongolia) and 15th (Hungary) centuries: AFLP, SSR and mtDNA sequence recoveries. Seed Science Research 16: 179-191.
34. Hammer K, Hanelt P, Perrino P. 1986. Carosello and the taxonomy of Cucumis melo L. especially of its vegetable races. Kulturpflanze 34: 249-259.
35. Hedrick UP. 1919. Sturtevant's notes on edible plants. Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon, pp. 169-172, 201-222.
36. Heiser CB. 1979. The gourd book. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
37. Hort A (ed. transl.) 1916. Theophrastus enquiry into plants I. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
38. Hyams E. 1971. Plants in the service of man: 10,000 years of domestication. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott.
39. Janick J, Paris HS. 2006a. Jonah and the 'gourd' at Nineveh: consequences of a classic mistranslation. In: Holmes GJ, ed. Proceedings of Cucurbitaceae 2006. Raleigh, NC: Universal Press, 349-357.
40. Janick J, Paris HS. 2006b. The cucurbit images (1515-1518) of the Villa Farnesina, Rome. Annals of Botany 97: 165-176.
41. Jeffrey C. 2001. Cucurbitaceae. In: Hanelt P, Inst. Plant Genet. & Crop Plant Res, eds. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1520.
42. Jones WHS (ed. transl.) 1951. Pliny natural history, Vol. VI. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 4-11.
43. Keimer L. 1924. Die gartenpflanzen im alten Ägypten. Hamburg: Hoffmann & Campe, pp. 12-18, 84-87, 170-171, 181.
44. Kirkbride JH Jr. 1993. Biosystematic monograph of the genus Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae). Boone, NC: Parkway, 1, 80.
45. Kislev M. 2000a. Does Jewish law permit grafting melon or watermelon on pumpkin? In: Katzir N, Paris HS, eds. Proceedings of Cucurbitaceae 2000. Acta Horticulturae 510: 231-234.
46. Kislev M. 2000b. Harkavat avattiah o melon 'al dela'at [Grafting watermelon or melon on gourd]. Tehumin 20: 412-418.
47. Lieberman M. 1993. Tosefta Kifshuta, 2nd edn. Seder Zera'im, part 2. Jerusalem: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 666-672.
48. Liddell HG, Scott R. 1925-1940. A Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press (9th edn by Jones H. R., McKenzie R.).
49. Loret V. 1892. Flore pharaonique. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 73-75.
50. Löw I. 1928. Die flora der Juden, vol. 1. Wien: R. Löwit, 528-554.
51. Manniche L. 1989. An ancient Egyptian herbal. Austin: University of Texas Press, 91-96.
52. Mechon Mamre. 2007. www.mechon-mamre.org. [Accessed 30 April, 2007].
53. Mohamed ETI, Yousif MT. 2004. Indigenous melons (Cucumis melo L.) in Sudan: a review of their genetic resources and prospects for use as sources of disease and insect resistance. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 138: 36-42.
54. Naudin C. 1859. Essais d'une monographie des espèces et des variétés du genre Cucumis. Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot., ser. 4 11: 5-87.
55. Paris HS. 1989. Historical records, origins, and development of the edible cultivar groups of Cucurbita pepo (Cucurbitaceae). Economic Botany 43: 423-443.
56. Paris HS. 2001. History of the cultivar-groups of Cucurbita pepo. Horticultural Reviews 25: 71-170, 4 pl.
57. Pazaras T. 1981. Two early Christian tombs from the western cemetery of Thessaloniki. Makedonica 21: 373-389.
58. e siècle. Paris: Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique, 293-309.
59. Pitrat M, Hanelt P, Hammer K. 2000. Some comments on infraspecific classification of cultivars of melon. In: Katzir N, Paris HS, eds. Proceedings of Cucurbitaceae 2000. Acta Horticulturae 510: 29-36.
60. Provatakis T. undated. Mount Athos: history - tradition - tourism. I. Thessaloniki, Greece: Rekos.
61. Rackham H. 1950. Pliny natural history, Vol. V. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 460-469.
62. Roberts J. 2001. The origins of fruits and vegetables. New York: Universe, pp. 76, 139.
63. Robinson RW, Decker-Walters DS. 1997. Cucurbits. Wallingford, UK: CAB International, 24-27, 61-66.
64. Rossi F. 1968. Il Mosaico: Pittura a di pietra. Milano: Alfieri & Lacroix Editore, p. 34, fig. 14.
65. Sillasoo Ü. 2006. Medieval plant depictions as a source for archaeobotanical research. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 16: 61-70.
66. Singer C. 1958. From magic to science: essays on the scientific twilight. New York: Dover, 172.
67. Stol M. 1987. The Cucurbitaceae in the cuneiform texts. In: Bulletin on Sumerian Agriculture, Vol. 3. Cambridge, UK: Sumerian Agriculture Group, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge, 81-92.
68. Vesling J. 1640. De plantis Aegyptiis observationes et notae ad Prosperum Alpinum. Batavia: P. Frambotti, 114-117.
69. Wall JR. 1967. Correlated inheritance of sex expression and fruit shape in Cucumis. Euphytica 16: 199-208.
70. Wellman M. 1906-1914. Pedaniio Dioscuridis Anazarbei De material medica libri quinque. Three volumes, reprinted 1958. Berlin: Weidmann.
71. Whitaker TW. 1947. American origin of the cultivated cucurbits. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 34: 101-111.
72. Whitaker TW, Davis GN. 1962. Cucurbits. New York: Interscience, 3.
73. Wilkins-Ellert M. 2003. The discovery of wild bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria). Cucurbit Network News 10: 1, 7.
74. Wilson HD, Payne JS. 1994. Crop/weed microgametophyte competition in Cucurbita pepo (Cucurbitaceae). American Journal of Botany 81: 1531-1537.
75. Yacoub M. 1995. Splendeurs des mosaïques de Tunisie. Tunis: Agence Nationale du Patrimoine, pp. 135, 137, fig. 60, upper left, pp. 102-103, 107, fig. 43a, centre right.
76. Zohary M. 1982. Plants of the Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 85-87.
77. Zohary D, Hopf M. 1993. Domestication of plants in the Old World. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 181-183.