The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World
Botanically, a tomato is the fruit of the Lycopersicon esculentum, a small plant native to Central and South America that was introduced to the rest of the world during the age of first European transatlantic sailings but which took generations to establish worldwide appeal.
Vaclav Smil • How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We're Going
Orange trees were in abundance, my first sight of the vitamin C fruit, growing.
Sean Breen • 1-Way Ticket
We live, we get out a little, and then no more, forever. And we know what’s coming—thanks to the fruit of the taboo tree that we were set up to eat. Why put it there, and then forbid it? Just to make sure it gets taken.
Richard Powers • The Overstory: A Novel
The most far-reaching development in 20th-century agriculture was the introduction in the 1980s of genetic engineering, the technology that makes it possible to alter our food plants and animals by surgically precise manipulation of the DNA that makes up their genes. This manipulation bypasses the natural barriers between species, so theoretically ... See more