desert plants that indicate former inhabitation

[regehr]

I ran across this article that talks about how plant species are sometimes the longest-lasting indication that people had lived somewhere:

Your Legacy on Earth May Be a Plant

Your Legacy on Earth May Be a Plant By Veronique Greenwood Sign up for our monthly newsletter! Where I grew up in northern California, we were surrounded by the remains of Gold Rush towns, now subsumed into the wild rye. I used to look for these places on old maps and then search them out...

worldsensorium.com

this isn't desert-centric, but every now and then I've seen references (on this site, I think) to plants found growing in the desert southwest that are the descendants of plans that were cultivated by Fremont or Anasazi or other native folks. It seems like this would be something fun to learn more about -- does anyone have good resources about this?

 

[TractorDoc]

Interesting article.

Not necessarily related to the desert either, but every spring there is an area on the farm where the forest floor is covered in grape hyacinths each spring.

It was the site of an old cabin/homestead. A stone foundation is still there if you know where to look for it, but even those rocks are quite overgrown. The hyacinths must have been planted and naturalized.

I too find this sort of stuff interesting. Sorry I don't have any resources to share with you though.

 

[wsp_scott]

I sometimes come across daffodils in the middle of the nowhere KY or NC, a definite sign of an old homestead, sometimes there is an old well or foundations or other signs, an old cemetery will often have daffodils in the spring.

sorry no book or anything, but I'd be interested in reading more

 

[Janice]

Right away this made me think of the squash patch in the Needles' Salt Creek. We were there in April and I had incorrectly assumed we wouldn't see any evidence of the squash patch since it was too early in the spring for plants to get started. But I had forgotten that without a gardener to pull up the old, gray stems in the fall, those old, gray stems would still be there in the spring. I was so happy to see them, even though they weren't green and fresh. I would love to know the story of this squash patch. I find myself creating a little movie in my mind of the people long ago acquiring the seeds (perhaps from a trader?) and eagerly planting, watering, and tending them, then enjoying the squash in mid-summer...

 

[RyanP]

Right away this made me think of the squash patch in the Needles' Salt Creek. We were there in April and I had incorrectly assumed we wouldn't see any evidence of the squash patch since it was too early in the spring for plants to get started. But I had forgotten that without a gardener to pull up the old, gray stems in the fall, those old, gray stems would still be there in the spring. I was so happy to see them, even though they weren't green and fresh. I would love to know the story of this squash patch. I find myself creating a little movie in my mind of the people long ago acquiring the seeds (perhaps from a trader?) and eagerly planting, watering, and tending them, then enjoying the squash in mid-summer...

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That squash patch is exactly what I thought of when I saw this thread!

 

[regehr]

the squash patch is exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about, thanks!!

 

[Rockskipper]

Lilacs are very hardy and I've seen them growing out where one wouldn't expect them, a sign of an old homestead.

 

[Janice]

Lilacs are very hardy and I've seen them growing out where one wouldn't expect them, a sign of an old homestead.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but where would they have gotten it from?

 

[wsp_scott]

Just had a chance to actually read the linked article and I had to laugh when it mentioned daffodils and chimneys and NC

smokies cemetary and daffodils

 

[Rockskipper]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but where would they have gotten it from?

They bring cuttings with them and share. Lots of pioneer women loved their gardens and flowers. Lots of peonies and such, too, and rhubarb that's now gone wild and asparagus! Tamarisk, which has invaded the riverways, was a highly prized plant because it was hardy, formed thick wind breaks, and smelled good. It was also imported, not native. The old homestead on our ranch (1880s) has varoius plum and fruit trees that have gone wild and spread, really beautiul.

 

[Janice]

They bring cuttings with them and share. Lots of pioneer women loved their gardens and flowers. Lots of peonies and such, too, and rhubarb that's now gone wild and asparagus! Tamarisk, which has invaded the riverways, was a highly prized plant because it was hardy, formed thick wind breaks, and smelled good. It was also imported, not native. The old homestead on our ranch (1880s) has varoius plum and fruit trees that have gone wild and spread, really beautiul.

Fascinating! Thanks for the info. I had no idea that amidst all the other things pioneers had to manage they brought non-food plants. I am thoroughly enjoying my summer garden right now and delight in picturing them enjoying theirs!

I think it's cool that you live on a ranch with so much history.

 

[Rockskipper]

I no longer live there, but it’s still in the family and where I grew up. It’s on the flyway for sandhill cranes, and there’s a lot of bald eagles there in the winter. It definitely had its good and bad. When you lived 10 miles from town and you’re a bored kid, it can be bad.

 

[Henk]

In 3 recent, consecutive issues of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America, articles titled :

"Ruins, rock art, and roasting pits: agaves as living archaeological relics"

the Author Ron Parker discusses pre-Columbian Agave cultigens, originally developed and farmed by indigenous Native Americans many hundreds of years ago.

The Agaves were cultivated to make a.o. the flesh softer and more sweet or adapt selected varieties from other areas to the their own more harsh, hot and dry desert climate.

These Agave cultigens are almost exclusively found around or near archeological sites

the complete Ruins, Rock Art, and Roasting Pits set from the CSSA Journal, including Parts I, II, and III can be downloaded as one PDF from a link near the bottom of this page

Ruins, Rock Art, and Roasting Pits - Agaveville

 

[regehr]

In 3 recent, consecutive issues of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America, articles titled :

very nice, thanks!

also, who knew there was a "Cactus and Succulent Society of America"???

 

[regehr]

the "grid fields" in part 3 (page 32 of the PDF) are super interesting.

a bit annoyingly, there's a lot of stuff in Utah the looks fairly similar to the aerial imagery of the grid fields, but isn't indicative of agriculture, it's rather just joints in the surface rock. for example:

 

[Henk]

also, who knew there was a "Cactus and Succulent Society of America"???

Such Societies are in many/most countries all over the world.
I'm more on the cactus side, but nevertheless regret that these Agave articles didn't appear already several years ago to have had the chance to investigate when visiting such archeological places.

By the way the author of the article Ron Parker also has an extensive presentation about this subject on Youtube:

Chasing Centuries: The Search for Ancient Agave Cultivars Across the Desert Southwest​