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Leguminosae
(663 words)

Legumes (Latin leguminosae) are the third most abundant plant group in the world, and of them, the faboideae is the subfamily with the largest number of species, including clover [7. 97 f.]. High in protein and hence nutritious thanks to their facility of nitrogen fixing, legumes such as peas, lentils, and beans were an important component of the human diet in the Near East, Mediterranean, Central Europe, and South and Central America from the Mesolithic period (Food[7. 101, 108 f., 124, 134 f., 137]; [6. 28, 37 f., 245 f.]. As a consequence of the European discovery of the “New W…

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Konersmann, Frank, “Leguminosae”, 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 27 March 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_023248>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20190801



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