You may not have imagined that the pumpkins that can be seen everywhere are once on the verge of extinction, which is even more unimaginable. If it weren’t for the “greed” of human beings and artificial cultivation, there would be no pumpkins and squash crops, and human domestication may not be a bad thing for nature. What is going on? Why is
facing endangered
It can be said that in the dinosaur era, cucumber genus, including pumpkins, gourds, zucchini, etc. appeared on the earth.
However, the pumpkin at that time was still very "unruly". Unlike the sweetness of pumpkins today, the wild pumpkin at that time contained a substance called "cucurbitol". This substance not only tasted extremely bitter, but also was toxic. With the existence of this substance, wild pumpkin looks fresh and delicious, but once a small animal mistakenly eats this plant, it is very likely to die.
Since this is the case, the spread of wild pumpkin seeds can only be achieved by a very small number of large mammals. These large mammals have huge bodies, which not only can reduce the harm of cucurbite to the body, but also can metabolize this toxin.
Foreign scientists have found seeds of the genus pilosa in the feces of mastodon . It is precisely because of the existence of these large mammals that the wild cilantro plants reproduce wildly and establish their "kingdom".
However, as time goes by, the area of wild pumpkin genus continues to shrink, which is directly related to the decrease or even disappearance of ancient large mammals. Without these animals, the seeds of pumpkins cannot spread on a large scale, while small animals cannot tolerate the bitterness of wild pumpkins at all. As a result, the ancestors of pumpkins fell into a desperate situation and were once on the verge of extinction.
How did humans later domesticate pumpkins?
Animals cannot tolerate the bitterness, dryness and hardness of wild pumpkin, let alone picky humans. Moreover, cucurbite is extremely harmful to the human body. Eating too much can cause severe diarrhea. It also has a professional term called "toxic cucumber syndrome".
However, in the process of looking for food, human ancestors found that wild pumpkins with relatively light bitter taste would be relatively less toxic. With rich life experience, people began to selectively pick and eat wild pumpkins, and the pumpkin seeds spread from this.
Human beings are constantly developing and progressing, with footprints almost all over the world. Pumpkins native to Mexico to Central America also cross the ocean with humans. Since the genus squash plants are similar to corn, potatoes and other crops, they are rich in carbohydrate , local people regard it as one of the key crops to be cultivated, and new varieties of pumpkins can be obtained through hybridization and other cultivation methods.
In addition, environmental changes are also an important reason for the domestication of pumpkins. Human activities bring pumpkin seeds to all parts of the world. Under the influence of climate and environment, the genes of wild pumpkins have changed.
From Penn State University research team compared the seeds of ancient wild pumpkins with the seeds of today's ordinary pumpkins. The results showed that since the emergence of wild cucumber plants, humans have domesticated at least three different genetic lineages of cucumber plants. Wild samples of pumpkins and zucchini are difficult to find, and some subspecies such as stamens can only survive in specific wild environments.
In short, pumpkins have indeed seen the hope of life again because of human activities.
The spread of pumpkin in China
Pumpkin was first introduced to China during the Ming Dynasty period. However, the pumpkin at that time was not called pumpkin, but Japanese cucumber. As the name suggests, it is a pumpkin genus that came from Japan. The Japanese call pumpkin "Tang Eggplant" because they believe that pumpkin comes from Eastern China.
It was not until that people realized that pumpkin did not come from Japan, but from the world southern , so "pumpkin" became its new name.
According to records, the cucumber genus is native to Mexico to Central America. Its transmission route is from Columbus to discover the New World , from Europe to Portugal, and from Portugal to Japan, Philippines and other countries, which were introduced to China during the Ming Dynasty.
For ordinary people at that time, pumpkins were not only easy to plant, but also had a high yield. They were able to replace grain. They were also known as "rice melon". Pumpkins have since been widely spread and widely planted in China.
The reproduction of ginkgo is also attributed to humans
Humans not only saved the endangered pumpkin, but also contributed to humans' reproduction.
In 1992, Ginkgo was listed as a rare and endangered plant in " Chinese Plant Red Book ". Until now, Ginkgo is still among the endangered plants, and is even defined as "extremely dangerous".
Yangtze alligator is listed as the ranks of endangered animals because of its rare rareness, but ginkgo trees can be seen everywhere in life, so why are they still endangered plants?
In fact, evaluating the vulnerability level of a species is not based on the number, but based on the survival ability of species in the wild . Although ginkgo trees are everywhere, their survival rate in the wild is very low. Experts from relevant parties analyzed that this is because the decrease and disappearance of wild animals that help ginkgo trees reproduce.
Ginkgo Leaf looks like a small fan, with a cute appearance, but few people will pay attention to Ginkgo Fruit . Not only does the ginkgo fruit taste unbearable, it is also poisonous, which is even worse than pumpkin.
The strong smell of ginkgo fruit will affect the ability of some animals to identify marks. Small animals such as birds and squirrels almost do not eat ginkgo fruit, but ginkgo fruit is the food source of many dinosaurs. While eating ginkgo fruit, dinosaurs also help the spread of ginkgo seeds, allowing ginkgo trees to reproduce continuously in the wild.
However, after the extinction of large animals such as dinosaurs that feed on ginkgo fruits, ginkgo fruits almost lost the way to spread seeds, resulting in a sharp decrease in the number of wild ginkgo trees. The emergence of humans once again helped ginkgo trees spread seeds, giving ginkgo trees hope for their growth. It can be said that ginkgo without human cultivation will gradually become endangered or even extinct.
In addition to pumpkin and ginkgo, there are actually many similar plants, such as avocado that is loved by people, and cocoa tree , etc. Almost all of them have caused the reproduction of these plants to fall into a desperate situation due to the decrease of symbiosis. However, due to the emergence of humans, these plants have been continuously evolved and constantly searched for the most suitable environment for their growth.
It can be said that these plants represented by pumpkins were on the verge of extinction, but were redeemed in the process of dealing with humans. Humans not only helped them spread seeds, but also found a more suitable living environment for them. Rather than saying that humans rely on natural resources to survive, nature and humans are interdependent and make progress together.
