Saturday, June 25, 2011

Origin of Spinach

Spinach was unknown to the ancient Mediterranean world. Spinach originated in Persia as a wild plant. It has been cultivated in China and many areas of the other areas of Asia and the Middle East for at least 2,000 years.

The first references to spinach are from Sasanian Persia (226-640 AD), and it was known that in 647 AD spinach was taken from Nepal to China. It arrived in China during the Tang dynasty (618 to 907 AD), along the great Silk Road.

One of the first brought into China, spinach as initially called the ‘Persian vegetable’ because of its origin, then the ‘red root vegetable’ due to its appearance.

The first written work evidence of spinach was medical works by Rhazes, while the other by two agricultural treatises.

In the eleventh century, the Moors introduced the spinach into Spain. One of the great Arab agronomist described spinach as the ‘prince of leafy greens’. However, Moors called it ‘hispanach’ or Spanish plant.

The first notice of its being used as an edible substance in Europe occurs in the year of 1351.

It was then introduced to English garden in 1548.
Origin of Spinach

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