Home » Gardening Information » Plant Conservation
Domesticated Crops by Plant Family
Of the 511 plant families currently recognized, only 173 have domesticated representatives. The following families have large numbers of domesticated species:
| Plant family | Number of crops | Area of origin |
|---|---|---|
| Poaceae (Gramineae) | 379 | Mostly Near East & Africa |
| Leguminosae (Fabaceae) | 337 | Indochina-Indonesia, Mediterranean Coast & adjacent regions, Central America |
| Rosaceae | 158 | Mainly China & Europe-Siberia |
| Solanaceae | 115 | Central America & Peru-Chile |
The following plant families also have made a notable contribution to the total number of plant domesticates:
| Plant family | Plant domesticates |
|---|---|
| Asteraceae (Compositae) | 86 |
| Cucurbitaceae | 53 |
| Labiatae | 52 |
| Rutaceae | 44 |
| Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) | 43 |
| Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) | 41 |
| Chenopodiaceae | 34 |
| Zingiberaceae | 30 |
| Palmae | 3 |