A Textual Research On Some Liliaceae In Chi Wu Ming Shi T'U K'Ao And The Domestication And Dispersal Of The Eggplant In China

There is a vast store of material about botany in the very extensive Chinese ancient literature. Because of the rich plant diversity in China, diversification of the Chinese dialects and development of the Chinese characters, there are innumerable plant names in the Chinese ancient literature. In addition, these names coming from different origin, thus a lot of plant synonyms and homonyms are produced. With this background, textual research on plants (plant textology) comes into being. In this dissertation, the circumscription, objects, contents, methods and aims of plant textology are briefly introduced, and more than 2000 years of its history is briefly retrospected. Representative figures and works in different periods are concisely reviewed. Following the rules "from literature of modern times to ancient times, from plants clearly described to ones vaguely described", I study some plants of the lily family in Chi wu ming shi t'u k'ao, an important book of the Qing Dynasty. An important cultivated plant --eggplant is also selected as a case study to explore the domestication and dispersal of crop plant in China. The purposeof these researches is to evaluate the position of plant textology in botany. 1. The botanical identification of Fentiao'er Cai and Feijin Cao The botanical origin of Fentiao'er Cai 粉条儿菜 and Feijin Cao 肺筋草 has remained confused for more than 100 years. In this dissertation, the plant named as Fentiao'er Cai, which first appeared in Kiu huang pen ts'ao is identified as Scorzonera albicaulis (Compositae), not Aletris. Feijin Cao 肺筋草, which was first described in Chi wu ming shi t'u k'ao belongs to Aletris. It is generally identified as A. spicata. This identification is apparently in error. In this dissertation , it is suggested that the botanical name for Feijin Cao 肺筋草 should be Aletris scopulorum, not Aletris spicata. 2. The botanical identification of Huangjing (黄精) and its allies "Huangjing" described and illustrated in Chi wu ming shi t'u k'ao includes Polygonatum cyrtonema,P. filipes and P. franchetii. These three species belongs to one species aggregate. It is difficult to discriminate them morphologically even in modern plant taxonomy. "Huangjing-Miao" (黄精苗) is identified as P. sibiricum; the first "Diangouwen" is P. punctatum; the second "Diangouwen" and "Dianhuangjing" is P. cirrhifolium or P. kingianum. The plant illustrated as "Weirui" is Disporum, not Polygonatum. It is identified as D.trabeculatum here. 3. The botanical identification of Beimu (贝母) "Beimu" illustrated and described in Chi wu ming shi t'u k'ao is not Fritillaria, but Araceae. It probably is the seedling of Pinellia ternata; "Diancangshanshengzhe" (点苍山生者) probably is Cyanotis vaga. "Beimu" mentioned in Zhang's poem is Bolbostemma paniculatum, which is probably the "Beimu" utilized by the ancients and was gradually superseded by Fritillaria. 4. Domestication and dispersal of the eggplant in China Based on the researches of Lester et al. (1991) and Mace et al. (1999), the ethnobotanical and field surveies of Solanum melongena were conducted in China and other countries of Southeast Asia by us.We also studied plant textology of it with Chinese ancient literature. Some conclusions are drawn as follows: Group F and Group G (primitive cultivar, named Ch'ieh-shu 茄树) occurs in the tropical region of China, and was first recorded in Jin Dynasty. Group H (advanced cultivar) was first recorded at 59 B.C., and probably domesticated from Group G in the warm temperate mountain zones of the south of Sichuan Basin. Some cultivars of Group H maybe were introduced from India or other countries of Southeast Asia. The dispersal route should be the South West Silk Road, not the North West Silk Road. In China Group H first dispersed eastward from Chengdu Plain to the middle and lower drainage areas of the Yangtze River, then northward to the middle drainage areas of the Yellow River in the fifth and sixth centuries A.D., when cultivation techniques of the eggplant were ripe, more and more utilization methods were emerging.Until the Song Dynasty, Group H diversified greatly and had been distributed all over China. In China, the targets of selection during domestication are bigger and sweet fruit. In the eleventh century A.D., the first illustration of eggplant appeared in China and probably the earliest one of the world.