Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Crop plant
(2,308 words)

1. Definition and survey

Crop plants are plants grown for their usefulness to humans, whether as food or for industry (as distinct from ornamental plants; see also Garden). The concept includes plants that grow on land and in water. The most important grain plants originated in the Middle and Near East, spreading to Europe in prehistoric times [10]. From the age of mercantilism, commercial use became an import…

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Küster, Hansjörg, “Crop plant”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_024879>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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