Domesticated plants of Mesoamerica

Domesticated plants of Mesoamerica, established by agricultural developments and practices over several thousand years of pre-Columbian history, include maize and capsicum. The following is a list of Mesoamerican cultivars and staples.

## Contents

* 1 Staple crops
* 1.1 Maize
* 1.2 Capsicum
* 1.3 Squash
* 1.4 Pinto bean
* 1.5 Cassava
* 2 Fruits and vegetables
* 2.1 Tomato
* 2.2 Potato
* 2.3 Avocado
* 2.4 Pineapple
* 2.5 Prickly pear
* 2.6 Jicama
* 2.7 Papaya
* 2.8 Guava
* 2.9 Huautli
* 2.10 Cherimoya
* 2.11 Sunflower
* 2.12 Chaya
* 2.13 Tepary bean
* 3 Spices and seasonings
* 3.1 Chocolate
* 3.2 Vanilla
* 4 Non-food plants
* 4.1 Chicle
* 4.2 Tobacco
* 5 See also
* 6 References

## Staple crops

### Maize

Ancient Mesoamerican relief sculpture of maize, National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico

Maize was domesticated in Western Mexico and Mesoamerican cultures expanded wherever it was cultivated. It became widespread in the Late Archaic Period and was grown wherever conditions allowed.

The early use of maize focused on the consumption of unripened kernels. Before people settled into villages and began farming, the amount of time it took to invest in maize was too great. The output of wild maize did not justify the time and work needed to grow the crop.

However, maize could be both dried and stored which was very important to early Mesoamericans as it could be used on a year-round basis. Drying meant that it could be transported as well. The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) was often grown with maize. These two plants provide complementary dietary amino acids. Improved bioavailability of maize was discovered using a special process involving limewater, which also added calcium.

Maize is also associated with festival and feast foods. Before it was domesticated and became a main crop, maize was used as a basis for beer. Beer was transported in decorated vessels and ceramic pottery. These vessels could be taken to social and ritual occasions.

Ritual events or festivals, such as ball games, feasts, and calendar turnings, involved the royal members who took part in the sacrifice of blood-letting and piercing as repayment to the gods for having given maize to the people that year.

Another example of how maize played such a large role in Mesoamerica, is when deities were portrayed with maize. Quetzalcoatl is connected as being a creator of humans in Mesoamerica. This deity is also seen as the one who took maize from the underworld and gave it to humans in the present world.

### Capsicum

Capsicum is the generic name of the chili pepper plant, which is a native domesticated plant from Mesoamerica. Capsaicin reduces the bacterial load when something can not be refrigerated. In Mesoamerica, the capsaicin spice was also used to relieve joint pain, and as an intestinal stimulant, so capsicum is also known as a medicinal plant. The peppers from capsicum plants can be used in a fresh or dried state. A dried chile pepper is stronger and more effective than a fresh chile pepper.

During the Middle Archaic Period or the Coxcatlán phase, between 5700 and 3825 BC, the domestication of plants, such as the chile, was thought to have begun. Mesoamerica's chile crops along with the majority of other food crops, were all domesticated by the Late Formative Period. When the domestication of crops began, the majority of people were working at cultivating fields and crops like the chile. Chiles were a relied on source of food in Mesoamerican times. Chile crops were combined with maize, beans, and squash crops.

Chiles were a part of trade and gift giving. Chiefs or other elite members would use foods and stews spiced with chiles when involved in a feast. Using such strongly spiced foods was to show a stylistic and powerful approach to those receiving the dishes.

The chile plant was featured in different stews including vegetables, turkey, and dog meats and in chile-spiced tomato salsa with tortillas. Chiles were also added at times to cacao, when it was in a beverage form. In Mesoamerica, chiles were used for ritual purposes and therefore, the chile crops did not extend into North and South America like maize, beans, and squash. A cuisine distinct to Mesoamerica was a maize-and-chile pepper based food.

### Squash

The Cucurbita genus were domesticated in at least six independent domestication events,[1] but Mexico is considered the center of Cucurbita diversity.[2] The genus includes the four major species C. pepo (summer squash, zucchini, pumpkins, acorn squash and crookneck squash[3][4], C. moschata (butternut squash), C. maxima (pumpkins), and C. argyrosperma (silverseeded gourd)[4] as well as C. digitata (calabazilla),[5] and C. foetidissima (buffalo gourd).[6] Of the four major species, three (C. pepo, C. moschata, and C. argyrosperma) are thought to have been domesticated in Mesoamerica.[4][7]

The earliest known evidence of the domestication of Cucurbita dates back at least 8,000 years ago, predating the domestication of other crops such as maize and beans in the region by around 4,000 years,[3][8][9] and was found in C. pepo samples in the Guilá Naquitz cave in Oaxaca, Mexico.[10][11] C. pepo was likely the first Cucurbita species domesticated,[4] with domestication resulting in increased seed sizes,[12] thicker and more robust peduncles (stalks supporting flowers or fruit), and thicker rind.[12] By c. 8,000 years BP C. pepo samples are found to have peduncles with diameters over 14mm, unlike wild ancestors,[12] and significantly increased rind thickness.[13][12] An explosion in the phenotypic diversity of C. pepo further confirms that domestication occurred no later than 8,000 years BP.[14][15][12]

Subsequently, C. moschata, and then C. argyrosperma were domesticated.[4] Recent genomic studies suggest that C. argyrosperma, the silver-seeded gourd, was domesticated in Mexico, in the region that is currently known as the state of Jalisco.[16][17] C. moschata is characterized by two main genetic groups: those from the Yucatán Peninsula, and those from the rest of Mexico.[18][19]

C. pepo is considered a staple in Mesoamerican diets, dating back to prehistoric times, and is one of the Three Sisters (squash, corn and beans), which were grown together. Silver-seeded gourds are commonly grown for their seeds, which are rich in carbohydrates and fatty acids. Genomic evidence suggests that their domestication occurred at least 8,700 years ago.[17]

### Pinto bean

Frijol pinto ("painted/speckled" bean) nitrogen-fixer traditionally planted in conjunction with the "two sisters", maize and squash, to help condition soil; runners grew on maize)

### Cassava

Edible starchy root also known as manioc; also used to make tapioca.

## Fruits and vegetables

### Tomato

Tomato is a member of the nightshade family.

### Potato

Potato is a member of the nightshade family.

### Avocado

Avocado is related to the laurel, cinnamon, and camphor plants.

### Pineapple

Pineapple is cultivated extensively.

### Prickly pear

Opuntia prickly pear cactus.

### Jicama

Jícama (/ˈhɪkəmə/; es; from Nahuatl xicamatl, nah), also Yam and Mexican Turnip, is the name of a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. Jícama is one species in the genus Pachyrhizus. Plants in this genus are commonly referred to as yam bean, although the term "yam bean" can be another name for jícama. The other major species of yam beans are also indigenous within the Americas.

### Papaya

Originally from southern Mexico, particularly Chiapas and Veracruz, Central America and northern South America, the papaya is now cultivated in most tropical countries. In cultivation, it grows rapidly, fruiting within 3 years. It is highly frost sensitive.

### Guava

Guava fruit.

### Huautli

Huautli is an amaranth grain.

### Cherimoya

Cherimoya fruit.

### Sunflower

Sunflower has been cultivated in Mexico and Peru for thousands of years, also source of essential oils.

### Chaya

Chaya is also known as tree spinach.

### Tepary bean

Tepary bean is cultivated from Arizona to Costa Rica. Also gathered from the wild in hot, arid, and semi-arid climates

## Spices and seasonings

### Chocolate

### Vanilla

Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. Etymologically, vanilla derives from the Spanish word "vainilla", little pod.[20] Originally cultivated by Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s.[21] Attempts to cultivate the vanilla plant outside Mexico and Central America proved futile because of the symbiotic relationship between the tlilxochitl vine that produced the vanilla orchid and the local species of Melipona bee; it was not until 1837 that Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially.[22] In 1841, a 12-year-old French-owned slave by the name of Edmond Albius, who lived on Île Bourbon, discovered the plant could be hand pollinated, allowing global cultivation of the plant.[23]

There are currently three major cultivars of vanilla grown globally, all derived from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including parts of modern-day Mexico.[24] The various subspecies are Vanilla planifolia (syn. V. fragrans), grown on Madagascar, Réunion and other tropical areas along the Indian Ocean; V. × tahitensis, grown in the South Pacific; and V. pompona, found in the West Indies, Central and South America.[25] The majority of the world's vanilla is the V. planifolia variety, more commonly known as "Madagascar-Bourbon" vanilla, produced in a small region of Madagascar and in Indonesia.[26][27]

## Non-food plants

### Chicle

Also known as chewing gum.

### Tobacco

note: the tobacco plant was cultivated throughout Central America, the Caribbean and North America.

## See also

* Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia
* List of food plants native to the Americas
* New World crops

## References

* Schlesinger, Victoria (2001). Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya: A Guide. Juan C. Chab-Medina (illus.), foreword by Carlos Galindo-Leal. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-77759-0. OCLC 46937482.

1. ↑ Sanjur, Oris I.; Piperno, Dolores R.; Andres, Thomas C.; Wessel-Beaver, Linda (2002). "Phylogenetic Relationships among Domesticated and Wild Species of Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae) Inferred from a Mitochondrial Gene: Implications for Crop Plant Evolution and Areas of Origin". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences) 99 (1): 535–540. doi:10.1073/pnas.012577299. PMID 11782554. Bibcode: 2002PNAS...99..535S.
2. ↑ Castellanos-Morales, Gabriela; Ruiz-Mondragón, Karen Y.; Hernández-Rosales, Helena S.; Sánchez-de la Vega, Guillermo; Gámez, Niza; Aguirre-Planter, Erika; Montes-Hernández, Salvador; Lira-Saade, Rafael et al. (2019-08-14). "Tracing back the origin of pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo ssp. pepo L.) in Mexico". Proceedings. Biological Sciences 286 (1908). doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.1440. ISSN 1471-2954. PMID 31409251.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nee, Michael (1990). "The Domestication of Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae)". Economic Botany (New York: New York Botanical Gardens Press) 44 (3, Supplement: New Perspectives on the Origin and Evolution of New World Domesticated Plants): 56–68. doi:10.1007/BF02860475. Bibcode: 1990EcBot..44S..56N.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Chomicki, Guillaume; Schaefer, Hanno; Renner, Susanne S. (2020). "Origin and domestication of Cucurbitaceae crops: insights from phylogenies, genomics and archaeology" (in en). New Phytologist 226 (5): 1240–1255. doi:10.1111/nph.16015. ISSN 1469-8137. PMID 31230355. Bibcode: 2020NewPh.226.1240C. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nph.16015.
5. ↑ "Cucurbita digitata A. Gray". United States Department of Agriculture. http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=CUDI.
6. ↑ "Cucurbita ficifolia Bouché". United States Department of Agriculture. http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=CUFI2.
7. ↑ Silva, Derly José Henriques da; Gomes, Ronaldo Silva; Júnior, Ronaldo Machado; Almeida, Cleverson Freitas de; Oliveira, Rebeca Lourenço de; Albuquerque, Dalcirlei Pinheiro; Santana, Santina Rodrigues (2025-07-27). "Characterization, Conservation, and Breeding of Winter Squash (Cucurbita moschata Duchesne): Case Study of the Collection Maintained at the Federal University of Viçosa Vegetable Germplasm Bank". Plants (Basel, Switzerland) 14 (15): 2317. doi:10.3390/plants14152317. ISSN 2223-7747. PMID 40805666. Bibcode: 2025Plnts..14.2317S.
8. ↑ Wilson, Hugh D.. "What is Cucurbita texana?". Free-living Cucurbita pepo in the United States Viral Resistance, Gene Flow, and Risk Assessment. Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group. http://botany.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/flcp/flcp3.htm.
9. ↑ Roush, Wade (9 May 1997). "Archaeobiology: Squash Seeds Yield New View of Early American Farming". Science (American Association For the Advancement of Science) 276 (5314): 894–895. doi:10.1126/science.276.5314.894. https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.276.5314.894.
10. ↑ Schoenwetter, James (April 1974). "Pollen Records of Guila Naquitz Cave". American Antiquity (Society for American Archaeology) 39 (2): 292–303. doi:10.2307/279589.
11. ↑ Benz, Bruce F. (2005). "Archaeological Evidence of Teosinte Domestication From Guilá Naquitz, Oaxaca". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98 (4): 2104–2106. doi:10.1073/pnas.98.4.2104. PMID 11172083. Bibcode: 2001PNAS...98.2104B.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Domic, Alejandra I.; VanDerwarker, Amber M.; Thakar, Heather B.; Hirth, Kenneth; Capriles, José M.; Harper, Thomas K.; Scheffler, Timothy E.; Kistler, Logan et al. (2024-05-13). "Archaeobotanical evidence supports indigenous cucurbit long-term use in the Mesoamerican Neotropics" (in en). Scientific Reports 14 (1): 10885. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-60723-1. ISSN 2045-2322. PMID 38740801. Bibcode: 2024NatSR..1410885D.
13. ↑ Feinman, Gary M.; Manzanilla, Linda (2000). Cultural Evolution: Contemporary Viewpoints. New York: Kluwer Academic. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-306-46240-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=d4DEPVVoqE8C&pg=PA31.
14. ↑ "Cucurbitaceae – Fruits for Peons, Pilgrims, and Pharaohs". University of California at Los Angeles. http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Cucurbita/.
15. ↑ Smith, Bruce D. (May 1997). "The Initial Domestication of Cucurbita pepo in the Americas 10,000 Years Ago". Science (Washington, DC) 276 (5314): 932–934. doi:10.1126/science.276.5314.932. https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.276.5314.932. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
16. ↑ Barrera-Redondo, Josué; Sánchez-de la Vega, Guillermo; Aguirre-Liguori, Jonás A.; Castellanos-Morales, Gabriela; Gutiérrez-Guerrero, Yocelyn T.; Aguirre-Dugua, Xitlali; Aguirre-Planter, Erika; Tenaillon, Maud I. et al. (December 2021). "The domestication of Cucurbita argyrosperma as revealed by the genome of its wild relative". Horticulture Research 8 (1): 109. doi:10.1038/s41438-021-00544-9. PMID 33931618. Bibcode: 2021HorR....8..109B.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Barrera-Redondo, Josué; Sánchez de la Vega, Guillermo; Aguirre-Liguori, Jónas; Castellanos-Morales, Gabriela; Gutiérrez-Guerrero, Yocelyn; Aguirre-Dugua, Xitlali; Aguirre-Planter, Erika; Tenaillon, Maud et al. (1 May 2021). "The domestication of Cucurbita argyrosperma as revealed by the genome of its wild relative". Horticulture Research 8 (109). doi:10.1038/s41438-021-00544-9. PMID 33931618. Bibcode: 2021HorR....8..109B.
18. ↑ Sánchez-de la Vega, Guillermo; Castellanos-Morales, Gabriela; Barrera-Redondo, Josué; Martínez-González, Carmina; Gasca-Pineda, Jaime; Villafán, Emanuel; Aguirre-Planter, Erika; Hernández-Rosales, Helena S. et al. (2025), "An Evolutionary Genomics View of Wild and Domesticated Cucurbita Species from Mexico" (in en), Biodiversity Management and Domestication in the Neotropics (Springer, Cham): pp. 1–27, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-64203-6_11-1, ISBN 978-3-031-64203-6, https://link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/978-3-031-64203-6_11-1, retrieved 2026-01-15
19. ↑ Hernández-Rosales, Helena S; Martínez de León, Rodrigo; Aguirre-Planter, Erika; Lira, Rafael; Eguiarte, Luis E (2025-10-01). "Population genomics of Mexican landraces of the squash Cucurbita moschata reveals structure and environmental adaptation" (in en). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 146 (2). doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blaf064. https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/doi/10.1093/biolinnean/blaf064/8268836.
20. ↑ James D. Ackerman (June 2003). "Vanilla". Flora of South America 26 (4): 507. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=134375. Retrieved 2008-07-22. "Spanish vainilla, little pod or capsule, referring to long, podlike fruits".
21. ↑ The Herb Society of Nashville (2008-05-21). "The Life of Spice". The Herb Society of Nashville. http://www.herbsocietynashville.org/gardening.htm. "Following Montezuma's capture, one of Cortés' officers saw him drinking "chocolatl" (made of powdered cocoa beans and ground corn flavored with ground vanilla pods and honey). The Spanish tried this drink themselves and were so impressed by this new taste sensation that they took samples back to Spain.' and 'Actually it was vanilla rather than the chocolate that made a bigger hit and by 1700 the use of vanilla was spread over all of Europe. Mexico became the leading producer of vanilla for three centuries. - Excerpted from 'Spices of the World Cookbook' by McCormick and 'The Book of Spices' by Frederic Rosengarten, Jr"
22. ↑ J. Hazen (1995). Vanilla. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-0254-3. https://archive.org/details/vanilla00haze.
23. ↑ Silver Cloud Estates. "History of Vanilla". Silver Cloud Estates. http://www.silvercloudestates.com/vanilla_history.aspx. "In 1837 the Belgian botanist Morren succeeded in artificially pollinating the vanilla flower. On Reunion Morren's process was attempted, but failed. It was not until 1841 that a 12-year-old slave by the name of Edmond Albius discovered the correct technique of hand pollinating the flowers."
24. ↑ Pesach Lubinsky; Séverine Bory; Juan Hernández Hernández; Seung-Chul Kim; Arturo Gómez-Pompa (2008-06-05). "Origins and Dispersal of Cultivated Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia Jacks. (Orchidaceae))". Economic Botany (Springer New York) 62 (2): 127–138. doi:10.1007/s12231-008-9014-y. ISSN 1874-9364. "Vanilla is a clonally propagated crop originating from Mesoamerica.".
25. ↑ Pascale Besse; Denis Da Silva; Séverine Bory; Michel Grisoni; Fabrice Le Bellec; Marie-France Duval (2004-08-07). "RAPD genetic diversity in cultivated vanilla". Plant Science 167 (2): 379–385. doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2004.04.007. "Reunion Island (Indian Ocean) and other humid tropical areas, cultivated vanilla is represented mainly by the species Vanilla planifolia G. Jackson, syn. V. fragrans (Salisb.) Ames...".
26. ↑ "Vanilla growing regions". The Rodell Company. 2008-01-07. http://www.rodellevanilla.com/GrowingRegions.htm. "...Madagascar is the world's primary growing region, cured vanilla beans are produced in the Comoros Islands, French Polynesia, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Tonga and Uganda."
27. ↑ The Nielsen-Massey Company (2007-09-17). "History of vanilla". The Nielsen-Massey Company. http://www.nielsenmassey.com/historyofvanilla.htm. "Madagascar and Indonesia produce 90 percent of the world's vanilla bean crop."

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