New Books Network Stephen A. Harris, "50 Plants That Changed the World" (Bodleian Library, 2025)
Sep 17, 2025
Dr. Stephen A. Harris, the Druce Curator at the University of Oxford, takes listeners on a captivating journey through history with fifty pivotal plants that have shaped human civilization. He discusses how plants like the sugar beet influenced economies during the Napoleonic Wars and debunks myths about bananas being trees. The conversation reveals the cultural and social impacts of flora, from medicinal uses to agricultural innovations. Harris highlights the importance of herbarium collections for understanding plant diversity and the often-overlooked roles plants play in our daily lives.
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How The 50 Were Selected
- Stephen Harris narrowed 35,000 useful plants to 50 using cultural relevance, geography, time periods, and engaging stories.
- He vetted his list with colleagues and kept both consensus picks and personal idiosyncratic choices.
Reconstructing Plant Origins
- Origins are reconstructed from morphology, archaeology, names, and increasingly DNA evidence.
- Domestication often involved hybridization and unconscious selection, making origins complex.
Plants In Religious Practice
- Plants play symbolic roles across religions, e.g., wheat for bread and grapes for wine in Christianity.
- Religious festivals and rituals often preserve older plant-related traditions across cultures.
