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31/03/2015

Adam Walton meets botanist John Warren, whose new book outlines our relationship with the plants we eat and their extraordinary sex lives.

30 minutes

Last on

Sun 5 Apr 2015 06:30

Botany - The sex lives of the plants we eat


Adam Walton in conversation with botanist Professor John Warren of Aberystwyth University about his new book: "The Nature Of Crops - How We Came To Eat The Plants We Do" published by CABI.

John outlines the stories of the plants we eat. Across many centuries we have selected and domesticated plants for food, often when, in their native form, they are poisonous. For example, wild almonds contain deadly cyanide, and only through trial and error by our ancestors were we able to select and cultivate a non-poisonous almond.聽


John also tells us about the varied, and often bizarre, sex lives of food crops including the avacado, where single plants can alternate between male and female forms. Also the papaya which can be male, female or hermaphrodite, or a variable combination of sexes.

The programme also explores the reasons why we only eat a tiny percentage of the plants available.聽

Broadcasts

  • Tue 31 Mar 2015 18:30
  • Sun 5 Apr 2015 06:30

Adam Walton

Adam Walton

Adam's "other job" - tune in every Saturday at 10 PM for the best new music from Wales.