I read an article recently about a lot of them being from Afghanistan. Because so much of the natural area has been destroyed, crops are gone too. The article was about taking stock from fruit (and nut) trees in California and taking them back to Afghanistan to start groves again. They said the original stock had come from there.

I seriously doubt it because Afghanistan is a cold desert environment. It simply is not possible for many in my list. I think your article may be talking about helping war-torn farmers to abandon opium growing.

It seems that pistachio and walnuts are native to the area, but those are not fruits. While they apparently also grew a lot of grapes, figs, almonds and maybe apricots, perhaps they were cultivated there and not native.

And yes, the article of course did talk about the efforts that were aimed at converting farmers to such historical crops instead of opium.

Not sure how reliable this source (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5380.htm) is, but it does say that The main source of income in the country is agriculture, and during its good years, Afghanistan produces enough food and food products to provide for the people, as well as to create a surplus for export. The major food crops produced are: corn, rice, barley, wheat, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

Hope you get some better answers than mine. :)

Apple - central Asia (southeast Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, etc)
Orange - southern China
Grapefruit - southeast Asia
Pear - southeast Europe to central Asia
Peach - northern China
Plum - Europe
Banana - tropical southeast Asia
Star-fruit - tropical southeast Asia
Grape - southern Europe, Caucasus
Strawberry - northern Europe, and related species in southern South America (most commercial strawberry cultivars are hybrids between the two)
Coconut - tropical Pacific & Indian Ocean islands
Watermelon - southern Africa
Pineapple - northern South America

Some others:
Apricot - northern China
Cherry - Europe, related species elsewhere in temperate northern hemisphere
Durian - tropical southeast Asia
Gooseberry - Europe, related species elsewhere in temperate northern hemisphere
Hazel - Europe, related species elsewhere in temperate northern hemisphere
Loquat - southern China, southern Japan
Mango - India
Raspberry - northern Europe, related species elsewhere in cool temperate northern hemisphere (most modern cultivars are a hybrid between the N European species and an N American species)
Redcurrant & Blackcurrant - Europe
Capsicum - South America
Tomato - South America
Walnut - central Asia

Barley - southwest Asia
Maize (US "corn") - Mexico
Millet - Africa
Oats - Europe
Rice - eastern Asia
Wheat - southwest Asia

Resin

Resin - Thank you! Now the interesting question might be whether one should treat them exactly as you would in their native environment (global warming ignored for the moment), or figure that they might have 'adapted' and/or changed in some way to live in the new one and should be treated differently?

"Where are fruit trees originally from?" That is such a vague query, why don't you pin it down a little better?
I'm sure that you know grapes are not trees. We have no less than 21 species of Vitis native to Eastern N. America. V. labrusca is not only commercially important in its own right, but it lends disease and nematode resistance to the resulting plant when used as an understock. In my area we have several native cherries and plums but the plums are mostly shrubby.
Add two more to your list: Diospyros virginiana or Common Persimmon and Asimina triloba or Pawpaw.
Sam

Resin, the modern strawberry is a hybrid between two American species.

Sam,

The most widely cultivated persimmon species is the Japanese Kaki Persimmon or Kaki, called "shizi" in Chinese. These are sweet, slightly tart fruits with a soft to occasionally fibrous texture.

American persimmon is usually called Indiana Jones' Banana ;-)

I also love papaya, and it's sometimes even possible to find a decent one in the stores here. Anyway, I've read that the tree is native to the Neotropics from southern Mexico to northern South America, which would put it more in the former realms of the Maya, the Aztec and other Central American groups. Papaya apparently spread far enough southward to be cultivated in the oases of the Moche civilization of coastal Peru. I think the original home region of the Incas, high in the Andes, would have been too cold for papaya. Probably only in their brief final period of imperial expansion, the hundred years before Pizarro arrived, would they have conquered lands where papaya could be grown.

North America certainly does come off as poor in native fruits & nuts, though. The imbalance is even more pronounced if we consider the variety of tropical fruits that aren't often available in N. America or Europe, like jujube, jackfruit, cashew (nut and apple), guava, litchee, sapodilla, umbu, cherimoya, acerola, ai, cupuaçu, passion fruit, jaboticaba, etc. At least we contributed the hickories, including pecan.

Cacau, yes, you are right. I hope I could try all these tropical fruits before I die. But I couldn't believe you did not mention mangosteen - my favorite "white orange".

Just a few additions to what pineresin wrote.

Pear - southeast Europe to central Asia Asian Pears originated in Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula
Plum - Europe Asian Plums originated in Central Asia and several North American species are cultivated for their fruit also, but not as much as the Asian and European species.
Banana - tropical southeast Asia Although it's found across the tropics world wide and has been since recorded human history began in these areas, the SE Asia is the best guess of where it originated.
Grape - southern Europe, Caucasus Several North American species are cultivated for their fruit and have been used in popular hybrids with European grapes. Most all cultivated grapes are grafted onto North American species root stocks.
Strawberry - northern Europe, and related species in southern South America (most commercial strawberry cultivars are hybrids between the two)Most all cultivated Strawberries worldwide are hybrids of 2 native North American species(1 Eastern US and 1 Pacific NW US), or cultivars of North American species
Coconut - tropical Pacific & Indian Ocean islands Pant tropical, just like the banana, so the South Pacific and/or tropical Indian Ocean is the best guess right now as to it's origins

Some others:
Cherry - Europe, related species elsewhere in temperate northern hemisphereThe North American native Black Cherry is a very important food species, used in everything from soda drinks to candy to desserts especially as a flavoring, but usually never eaten raw like the 2 European species
Gooseberry - Europe, related species elsewhere in temperate northern hemisphere The "European species are mostly native to the Caucasus Mountains and North Africa. Also, 1 American species(Ribes hirtellum) is also commonly cultivated and used in hybrids with the "European" species.
Hazel - Europe, related species elsewhere in temperate northern hemisphere There are a couple of Asian species important in cultivation also. A couple of North American species are also collected and cultivated for food, but not nearly as common as the Asian and European species and hybrids.
Raspberry - northern Europe, related species elsewhere in cool temperate northern hemisphere (most modern cultivars are a hybrid between the N European species and an N American species) There are countless wild species in the US which are all collected for fruit production and use in desserts and candies. Even a couple of American species are cultivated just like the common American-Euro hybrids.
Redcurrant & Blackcurrant - Europe Several North American species are used in wine making, and fruit production, including one with the same common name "Black Currant" as one of the European species.
Walnut - central Asia This would be the Persian Walnut, but the American native Black Walnut is just as important in food uses. It's used in everything from cookies to ice cream to candies, and even eaten raw(less commonly than the Persian Walnut though)

Rice - eastern Asia The oldest evidence of Rice cultivation is in Northern Thailand(about 10,000 years ago) so, it's SE Asia.

Also, some other non-tree and tree fruits from North America are:
Squash, Pumpkins, Sunflower seeds, Pecans, American Persimmon, Paw Paws, Pond Apples, and Soursop(these last 2 are native to Florida and related to Paw Paws and are DELICIOUS!)

Some other New World fruits(Central America and South America), including many which are now associated with European or Asian cuisine(like tomatoes and Italy, potatoes and Ireland, Peanuts, and Sunflower seeds and China, Chili peppers and SE Asia and India; but all are native to the Americas) are:

Peanuts, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, vanilla, Cacao (the bean chocolate is made from), most beans including green, snap, string, pinto, white, kidney, black, and yellow beans(most dried beans, flava, and field beans are native to North Africa and SW Asia), Cherimoya(another Paw Paw relative), Cashews, Brazil Nuts, Bell Peppers, and ALL chili Peppers(even the ones famous from India, China and SE Asia ALL chili peppers originate from Central and South America and were completely unknown in the old world until Columbus, even the misnamed Capsicum chinensis, which is native to South America and was erroneously named by an Austrian botanist in 1776).

I left out many tropical American fruits, which aren't as widely known as the ones I listed. In case anyone wonders.

We really have a lot of fruits and nuts native to North America, however many of them have not had a thousand years or more of selective breeding to develop their fruit qualities. Among those native to North America are:
chokecherries
buffalo berries
american hazelnut
american chestnut
hickory nuts & black walnuts & others in of that family
red & black & clove currants
service berries (saskatoons)
plums
blueberries
huckleberries
cranberries
cactus pears
grapes
strawberries
raspberries
elderberries
pine nuts
& a number of other herbaceous fruits and vegetables

There are probably a lot of other regional favorites, too. I wonder how big this list can get?

We are fortunate to live with so many delicious options from here and all over the world.

Just to plug Black cherry from E North Amer -- the fully ripe cherries are, IMHO, delicious w/good sweetness & the characteristic strong "bitter-almond" flavor. Better tasting straight off the tree than domestic "sour" cherries.

Bilberries are native to Scandinavia - and I think there is an equivalent "blueberry" type in Scotland. Cranberries are another NA native, along with blueberries.

There are so many edibles native to North America that many people just don't know about. One choice edible that I noticed missing from beeone's list was the Morus rubra or red mulberry. The berries are good fresh and make wonderful pies.

If looking up edibles native to North America, these books may help:

Native Harvests: American Indian Wild Foods and Recipes by E. Barrie Kavasch
Billy Joe Tatum's Wild Foods Field Guide and Cookbook ed. by Helen Witty
Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons
Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places by Steve Brill with Evelyn Dean

Note: these books often and do include naturalized (alien) species as well so these are a starting point. Look up the plant on the plants.usda.gov site to see their "native" status.

FataMorgana

Hi Kman, thank you for the list. You must love plants to compile such a list around midnight Friday. I hope your family okay your dedication. Are plants part of your job?

To be honest with you, I really crave for tropical fruits. When I think about them, I picture tropical oceans, sunshine and relaxed vacation time. However, when thinking about Native North American fruits, I think about surviving skills, hardship, hunting trips and the recipes of grandma who is known to turn bitter berries into a sweet pie. They remind me of the depression period and economically suppressed North American regions, like the Appalachian Mountains in the old time - absolutely gorgeous.

Given time for human selection, I believe Native American fruits will improve over time. For example, I think blue berry can become sweet egg plant in the future!

Ethnobotany and fruit/vegetable native origins just happens to be one of my interests. It's particularly frustrating when you can't convince people that Tomatoes aren't Italian, much less European, or that Potatoes aren't Irish much less European, or that Chili Peppers aren't East Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, much less Asian, or that Peanuts(and the ever popular Chinese snacks of Pumpkin seeds and Sunflower seeds) aren't Chinese much less Asian, and Chocolate isn't a European invention but Mayan, etc.

It is interesting how these foreign food become so well incorporated and important in other places around the world too.

Also, if anyone is interested in what food native to the Americas is like, just think of traditional Thanksgiving foods, which are mostly all native to the Americas. Like, squash, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, turkey(ok not a fruit or vegetable,but an American native), potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, etc. Also, Tex-Mex, Mexican, and Southwestern cooking is mostly all native foods. So, I'd say the Americas, including North America, have had a rather large impact on human foods around the world.

Hhhmmm...how did this all end up on the tree forum? he he

Have the more common Western fruits been selectively bred for centuries/millenia? Are there still "original" wild types left, or do they really know? with domesticated forms mixing back in with wild forms?

I think with vegetables the history is hard to completely decipher back to the wild origins with thousands years of domestication with Maize, Beans, Peppers, Potatoes in the Americas or like with Brassicas in Europe. Try to explain to some people that Broccoli, Cabbage, Collard, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Brussel Sprouts, Kales are all basically the same plant. Asians have been growing for thousands of years, so many cultures over time.

People don't realize that 99% of all modern foods (except for seafood items I guess) have hundreds or a few thousand years of selective breeding by human civilization. The basics of the theories about genetics and selection are well evidenced by what humans consume every day.

Pinus pinea is thought to have been cultivated for something like 6,000 years in the Mediterranean. Some other tree fruit species probably have an even longer history of cultivation.

Resin

Noki, vegetables are less popular in Europe, Central Asia and North Africa.

While the main stream American culture accepts a large number of fruits, she okays only a very limited number of meat - namely chicken, pork and beef. Now, plus goat, sheep, duck and goose, I wonder where these animals are originally from?

I know Turkey is an all American bird. I also know all pet dogs are originated from a mother-wolf in Southern China.

Yes I did omit mangosteen, mostly because I've never eaten one. Like kman, I only mentioned a few of the tropical fruits...things I've tried, mainly. People, regardless of where they live, usually eat no more than a hundred of the thousands of plants that are potential food. Ask the average person to make a list of 100 distinct plant foods--not so easy! (Counting Brassica oleracea as one only.)

The California Rare Fruit Growers has an interesting site about growing unusual plants in our warmest zones, see link.

Cacau

Here is a link that might be useful: California Rare Fruit Growers

If you believe that a species cultivated for several thousand years throughout a wide climatic zone can be reliably and precisely pinpointed to a narrow politically-determined nation, I have a bridge you may like to buy.

pinetree30,

Are you saying there is a specific fruit/nut/vegetable that you don't think anyone knows where in the world it's from or that none of the long cultivated fruits/nuts/vegetables can be narrowed down to an area or region which may or may not completely fall within a modern countries boarders?

There are certainly some that either because of their modern pan-tropical cultivation and seemingly wild occurrence(bananas, coconuts, yams(not sweet potatoes)) or their very ancient lineage (wheat, rice(my mention of Thailand is based on the oldest archaeological evidence discovered to date), Asian Persimmons(Kaki), Apples, etc.) which make their origins still debated and the current "best guess" changes or is refined as new evidence is discovered.

I'd say most of the origins are rather well supported by archaeological evidence, DNA analysis, and human records (including lack of human records in areas where the fruit/nut/vegetable is thought not to of originated).

No kman, I am just skeptical of how strong evidence is available for all the species listed on earlier posts. You allude to this in your 2d paragraph. In the case of a species without known selected cultivars, like Pinus pinea, but which is known to have been cultivated for a long time, I think it's largely guesswork as to where its origin was.

Ok, I was just wondering if you had something specific in mind in regards to the posts or it was more broad about all of them.

I'm sure there's plenty of more evidence to be found to try and narrow down some of these, but who knows we might not ever narrow them down more than an area the size of a continent or a large region of a continent.

With species like Pinus pinea, it should be possible to narrow down the native range and subsequent spread in cultivation more closely from subfossils - the 'nut' shells are very durable. I'd suspect it's already been done, though I don't personally know of any research papers on the topic (if anyone does, I'd be interested to know!).

Resin

For what it's worth, the oldest sufbfossils I've read about of Pinus pinea are 5,000 years old found on the Iberian peninsula(there might be older ones that I just haven't read about). But the only populations of Pinus pinea that shows any kind of real genetic diversity are a couple of populations in Lebanon.

I am joining late with the following additions to this fascinating thread:

Mangosteen - Moluccas
Jack Fruit - SW India
Breadfruit - somewhere in Melanesia/Micronesia/Polynesia

Maluccas, of course, is the home of Nutmeg, Cloves, and many other spices.

John

Didn't see these mentioned (but may have overlooked):
Pecans - southern USA
Blackberries - southern USA
Dewberries - southern USA
Pinyon Pine nuts - sw USA
Pine nuts - California Gray pine - California
Pine nuts - Coulter pine - Calif.
Choke cherries - north. USA

How about the original fruit tree in the Garden of Eden? This was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It produced the Forbidden Fruit. I think that the location was somewhere in ancient Persia.
Sam

Blackberries - Europe.
Dewberries - Europe. Both names in use long before North America was discovered ;-)
Pinyon Pine nuts - Southwestern Europe; from Spainsh piñon, the seeds of Pinus pinea

Resin

Sam, please differentiate religion from science. There are many magic trees and fruits in Hindu, Buddhism and folklores of all cultures. Fairy tale does not count!

Blackberries are native to the U.S., there are around 200 Rubus sp. native to the U.S.
The widespread native Sawtooth Blackberry (Rubus argutus) here makes good jelly and is also good eaten raw in the summer.

Yeah, 200 Rubus sp. native to the U.S., but none of them were called 'blackberry' by the Native Americans!

Resin

Sam, many now believe it was in NW Iran (now desert like), the fruit was perhaps pomegranate, but nobody knows for sure. And snasxs it's not a fairy tale like peter pan, it's from scripture. ;-)

Of course they were not called that by the Native Americans.
And none were called Blackberry thousands of years ago in Europe either, they were named just like every other plant is named! Just because they are separated by water does not make them any different from other Rubus sp., and there is no reason at all Not to call them Blackberry. lol
All you said was : Blackberries - Europe.
A type of Blackberry (Rubus sp.) is a type of blackberry (Rubus sp.), so what? ;-)

medamana, yeah, I love mangosteen also because the anti-oxidant in it. I would not say that it cures cancer and diabetes. But I hear it does make people look young!

treeguy123, do you believe that dinosaurs and grapes were here to test your faith?

Strange sentence my friend but No, Faith and Fairy tales are separate things. Don't get all mad ;-D Carry on...

Now, I bet you look at your daily fruits from a different way. The image is a small fruit shop in Barcelona Spain. Can you name all the fruits in it?

{{gwi:499409}}

Today I read the ingredients on a package of fruitcake. I recognized everything except citron. I could not picture a citron tree.
After looking it up I see that citron is Citrus medica. This is a thorny, evergreen tree native to the mid-East. This is an ancient fruit, processed in a salt brine and then candied.
Sam

Snasnx,

Great picture! My hit-rate is about 50%.

Here's the picture of a tree bearing Jackfruit. This picture was taken in Kerala, India.

{{gwi:499410}}

medamana,

Yum, Jack fruit, I love them. They are my "honey tree-pineapples".

Sam, citron's main content is the thick white rind which adheres to the segments. Its pulp is small and dry. It is used as orange-peel in fruitcake. I love fruitcake. I don't quite understand why so many people are so negative about them.

One could argue that no tree has touched our lives more than coffee. It is not so much the fruit of the coffee plant but the seed or bean inside that we are after.
Make mine Coffea arabica, a shrubby, evergreen tree with fragrant flowers. It cannot tolerate frost. This is an Ethiopian native where it has been grown for 1000 years.
Sam

It is believed that, with the notable exception of cherries, the stone fruit species originated in an area that is in modern-day southern China. But apricots have been bred for thousands of years in Persia and Armenia. Before all that breeding, the original Asian apricot was very sour. In fact, they still have it in Asia, and use it to make alcohol and for pickle them as a condiment (in Japan it is called mume). Cherries originated around the area in the North, above the Black Sea extending to the Caspian Sea.

Crabapples have long been native to Europe, but the modern apple resulted from crossing the crabapple with a bigger apple species from the Tien Shan mountains in the far Western part of China. There are still crabapple varieties in Europe that are good for eating.

All the citrus came from Southeastern China, or in the case of Pomelo, from Malaysia (and surrounding parts of Southeast Asia). The Orange is believed to have been originally developed in China from repeated breeding of Pomelo together with Mandarin.

Wild strawberries have long been native to the Northernmost part of Europe, and the Alps, but are very small. The modern day strawberry came about by crossing a bigger strawberry species native to Peru with the smaller European wild strawberry.

Pineapples are native to Central America, when the Spanish explorers first came to Panama they saw pineapples growing wild.

Grapes are thought to have either come from the Caucasus region (there are some lush green pockets of forest and subtropical jungle there) or from Afghanistan. Wild grapes grow wild across the region, but these are not very suitable for eating, so it is unclear where they were originally bred. Grapes were already being grown in Armenia in very ancient times. But in ancient times they did not have seedless grapes, so grapes were almost always made into wine (often with a lower alcohol content than today's wine).

I think some of the statements about where fruit have originate are being questioned by the archeological records, and the new DNA analysis. DNA analysis is being used to track "Native" fruit across the world and is being used to track ancient migrations.

I did not see any mention of the American Corn that was breed from the wild grasses of Mexico and Central America.

Early humans moved plants around. This factor accounts for where modern humans think various plants came from. In some cases, the true origin is lost to history. In N. America, pre-European man is now understood to have practiced a great deal more of this moving around of certain species than had perhaps been originally thought. The trail has gotten cold on a lot of these though.