Founder crops

Botanical illustration of emmer wheat
Emmer wheat
Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccum
Botanical illustration of einkorn wheat
Einkorn wheat
Triticum monococcum
Botanical illustration of barley
Barley
Hordeum vulgare
Botanical illustration of lentil
Lentil
Lens culinaris
Botanical illustration of pea
Pea
Pisum sativum
Botanical illustration of chickpea
Chickpea
Cicer arietinum
Botanical illustration of bitter vetch
Bitter vetch
Vicia ervilia
Botanical illustration of flax
Flax
Linum usitatissimum

The founder crops or primary domesticates are a group of flowering plants that were domesticated by early farming communities in Southwest Asia and went on to form the basis of agricultural economies across Eurasia. As originally defined by Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf, they consisted of three cereals (emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, and barley), four pulses (lentil, pea, chickpea, and bitter vetch), and flax. Subsequent research has indicated that many other species could be considered founder crops. These species were amongst the first domesticated plants in the world.


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