Seeds of Change: Five Plants That Transformed Mankind
Encyclopedia
Seeds of Change: Five plants that transformed mankind is a 1985 book by Henry Hobhouse, formerly a journalist for The Economist
, News Chronicle
, Daily Express
, and the Wall Street Journal, consultant to the Quincentenary of Columbus Exhibition, Smithsonian Institution
, Washington DC, and Chairman of the Rerstmoceux Science Centre. Seeds of change attempts to give an insight on how mankind's discovery, usage and trade of sugar
, tea
, cotton
, the potato
, and quinine
have influenced history to make the world that we know. In the second edition of the book, Seeds of Change: Six plants that transformed mankind, he adds the coca plant to the list.
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, News Chronicle
News Chronicle
The News Chronicle was a British daily newspaper. It ceased publication on 17 October 1960, being absorbed into the Daily Mail. Its offices were in Bouverie Street, off Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 8DP, England.-Daily Chronicle:...
, Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, and the Wall Street Journal, consultant to the Quincentenary of Columbus Exhibition, Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, Washington DC, and Chairman of the Rerstmoceux Science Centre. Seeds of change attempts to give an insight on how mankind's discovery, usage and trade of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, the potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
, and quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
have influenced history to make the world that we know. In the second edition of the book, Seeds of Change: Six plants that transformed mankind, he adds the coca plant to the list.