sumpweed

…bear plentiful seeds) such as sumpweed (Iva annua) and lamb’s-quarters (Chenopodium album). Northern Americans independently domesticated several kinds of flora, including a variety of squash (c. 3000 bce) unrelated to the those of Mesoamerica or South America, sunflowers Helianthus annuus (c. 3000 bce), and goosefoot Chenopodium berlandieri (c. 2500 bce).

It is unclear why sumpweed fell out of favor, although some have suggested that its tendency to cause hay fever and contact dermatitis may have contributed to the demise of its domesticated forms. Others believe that the timing of the event, coincident with the first wave of European conquest,…

Another early local cultigen is sumpweed. A drastic change in seed size indicates that wild sumpweed fruits were harvested in Illinois about 7000 bp and that by 5500 bp a domesticated, large-seeded sumpweed was being grown. The average size of sumpweed seeds continued to enlarge until about 500 bp, when…