Gardens of Oceania
CARDENS OF OCEANIA
Annie Walter and Vincent Lebot with collaboration from Chanel Sam
CARDENS OF OCEANIA
English translation by Paul Ferrar First published in French by IRD Éditions and CIRAD as Jardins d'Océanie, © IRD Éditions-CIRAD, 2003, ISBN IRD 2-7099-1524-3, ISBN CIRAD 2-87614-568-5
ACIAR Monograph Séries This séries contalns the results of original research supportée! by ACIAR, or materlal deemed relevant to Australia's research and development objectives. The séries is distributed internationally with an emphasis on developing countries.
This édition created in Australia with the permission of IRD-CIRAD
© Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, 2007
Walter, A. and Lebot, V. 2007. Gardens of Oceania. ACIAR Monograph No. 122. [trs P. Ferrar from Jardins d'Océanie].
ISBN 1 86320 470 9 (print) ISBN 1 86320 513 6 (online)
Design and layout: Catherine Plasse and Design ONE Printed by: PIRION Pty Ltd
Printed with vegetable based inks on stock that comprises 80% recycled fibre from post-consumer waste and 20% TCF pulp sourced from sustainable forests. Book Préface 7 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 13 Clossary of terms 21 Agriculture and cultivated places 31
Root and tuber crops 57 Trees, shrubs and bushes 109 Climbing plants 179 Herbaceous plants 221 Index of generic names 299 Index of common names 305 Table of contents of book 323
CD-ROM Full text of book The Fruits of oceanla Minor species Photos of morphological variabllity Bibliography Annexi: Plants that are foraged Annex 2: Synopsis of species covered In book and CD-ROM Annex 3: Species names and main synonyms Annex 4: Herbarium spécimens
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LU a: •X o by Stephen Kalsakau today there are about 200,000 Minister of Agriculture inhabitants, but this is a matter of Vanuatu some concern: the urban popu- The ni-Vanuatu people hâve lation is expected to double in the a real passion for plants. Their next ten years, and the total relationship with the plant world population of the country will is that of gardeners, aware of the double in the next 23 years and rich but fragile biodiversity of will reach one million in 2070. their own islands, and inquiring Provision of the necessities of as to what may be introduced life will then become quite difficult. and exploited from the modem In thèse circumstances two world outside. They never stop approaches may be taken to experimenting with new species satisfy the food needs of the of food plants and ornamental population: the amount of local species. Even though the genetic food production must expand diversity of the indigenous species rapidly, and farmers must tends to become narrower, the increase their incomes through number of différent cultivated export of produce in order to plants found within the trad- be able to buy from overseas itional garden is at the same time whatever cannot be produced increasing with the introduction locally. of exotic species into the archi- pelago and their exploitation. It is this last strategy that has been favoured since Indepen- The population of Vanuatu is dence, with modest success. thought to hâve been close to The geographical isolation of a million people before the first the country, far from the main contact with Europeans. Although trade routes, and the physical little information is available, layout of the country - an archi- it is probable that the richness pelago - cause major problems and the productivity of the soils for the trade in food products, allowed the inhabitants to meet which are often perishable. The their nutritional needs without constraints that agricultural much risk of malnutrition, despite exports must overcome are the numerous and fréquent climatic enormous. The distance of the hazards. But this type of subsis- major consumer markets make tence, though still possible, is not the staple food products uncom- found any longer. The population petitive. Conversely, the agriculture of Vanuatu, decimated by intro- of this tiny country, suffering from duced diseases and forced the absence of any protective migration, was only about 110,000 measures, is exposed to the full inhabitants in 1980 at the time of measure of global compétition. Independence. A very high popu- The importers of agricultural lation growth rate has meant that commodities benefît from this *_LU» O U_ O z LU O a: *t o and are able to place on the local the local in order to face the market impressive quantifies of global. The ni-Vanuatu can be exotic, imported foods, which proud of their biological products, are even cheaper than the local which are produced without products. The difficulties of pesticides or other chemical exporting combined with the products. The diversity of thèse great ease of importation make local products deserves to be for a serious imbalance in the valued, but being poorly known balance of trade. they are also poorly utilised.
Since Independence the agricul- In this context, this book is an tural balance sheet of Vanuatu has important resource: it summar- been in déficit every year. The ises available knowledge about value of imported food commo- numerous food plants that could dities is regularly higher than the and should be exploited commer- value of those exported. Worse cially in the future, in order to still, food styles and préférences assure the development of an change very quickly. Per capita agriculture that can produce consumption of canned méat sufflcient to cope with the formi- and flsh, rice, flour and other dable population growth while processed foods is increasing at the same time preserving the continually. Nowadays young island environment. It is thus people prefer bread and rice intended for a very large public: to the local root crops, because producers, to be sure, but also they acquired the taste for them the teachers who hâve the heavy during their years of éducation, responsibility of educating the and because thèse foods are younger générations, professionals quicker to prépare and cheaper in agriculture and related sectors, for a salaried population that those with assorted rôles in public buys its food and is short on time. Bfe, and finally the décision makers. Thèse young people thus repre- Ail thèse people may quickly find sent a potential consumer market source information on the history for overseas cereal growers, and of the food plants found nowadays local producers suffer a steady in Vanuatu, their botanical décline in customers even though descriptions, the variability the local production of food found within the species, the crops remains high. gênerai détails of their cultivation, and finally complementary infor- Aware of the dangers that this mation on their main uses. This is situation présents, the Govern- a comprehensive guide that will ment of the Republic of Vanuatu allow everyone, whatever their decided to déclare the first year interests or character, to hâve of the new century - 2001 - "the systematic access to important year of local produce", or "Yia information, from the most basic blong Aelan Kakai" in Bislama. to the most particular. The book Through this simple slogan, this thus covers the major plants, national campaign aims to remind illustrated by numerous •X. citizens of the need to préserve LU L_> O U_ O l/l Z LU « O photographs. It provides for each comprehensively depicts our plant a list of références and a modern-day agriculture, with its repeat of spécifie information ancestral plants and those that that is developed further in the hâve come in additionally, giving CD-ROM: the synonyms of the information for ail on the origin, the plant species, the herbarium modes of cultivation, the varia- référence spécimens and the bility and the practical usage studies of intraspecific variability. of each species, and allowing The reader, having consulted the specialists easy access to tech- book for the main information nical information that they may on a particular plant species, need. This is a difScult, not to may then refer to the CD-ROM say hazardous, task when one to obtain complementary infor- considers the remarkable diversity mation if wished from the cited of plants in Oceania, but even références for easy access to if there may be a few errors and more detailed information. omissions, a thorough reading of this comprehensive and easy to The authors, Annie Walter access work can be recommended and Vincent Lebot, hâve thus toall. provided us with a work that
LU O a: 1 Finally, we would like also to I was assisted with some parti- thank Jacques Florence and cular French terms by my friend Francis Halle who went through and former colleague Christine our manuscript with a fine tooth- Moore, and also by one of the comb, and whose continents, authors, Vincent Lebot, whose corrections and suggestions knowledge of English is far better hâve greatly improved the initial than mine of French. I am most draft of this text. It is of course grateful to both of them, while understood that if any errors or acknowledging that any errors misinformation remain, they are that remain are my responsibility. our responsibility. IRD and CIRAD kindlymade available a full electronic copy of the French text and ail the Note on English illustrations, and permitted ACIAR édition by to publish the English translation. I am also most grateful to my translator former colleague Robin Taylor As translator of the fascinating (Publications Manager of ACIAR) earlier volume Fruits d'Océanie, for her encouragement and I was excited to hear that a assistance with technical companion volume, Jardins production of the work. d'Océanie, was to complète Paul Ferrar this study of the food plants Canberra of Vanuatu, and I offered my services again to translate the new work.
« z •x LU L_> O u- O */» Z LU O «Dr o Migrations towards the Sahul continental plate before the last glaciation
•x uj L-> O u- O Ul LU O or X It is estimated that about nations, colonisation, the increase 500,000 species of plants occur in tourist travel and the growth throughout the world, but only of international trade hâve cont- a small proportion of thèse hâve ributed to the spread of local been identified, described and food species on a huge scale, stored in herbaria, and many and to the change of testes are disappearing before they in food materials. Nowadays, hâve been classified. thanks to trade in seeds, to the development of supermarkets Among thèse, about 30,000 and the growth of shops selling species are edible and 7,000 hâve exotic foods, and to increasing been cultivated or gathered by immigrant populations, in any humans at one rime or another in given country one may fmd history. Several thousand species practically any ingrédient for hâve thus been considered to be preparing a meal. It seems, of use to human nutrition globally. therefore, that if one particular Nowadays only thirty species feed économie trend tends to reduce the world and their cultivation the number of food plants to provides 95% of the requirements a few species, another trend is of calories and proteins, with tending to increase our choice wheat, maize and rice alone of available foods. The world, supplying about half the energy finally, is seeing an era of great obtained from plants. It is thus gastronomie exploration. Western primarily on thèse three species, countries are discovering, and and then on the other 27 species, will discover still more, unknown that the main efforts are made food plants for which they know for improvement and conser- neither the name nor the usage. vation of genetic diversity. This Tropical countries hâve seen, and shows the extent to which the will see yet more, the arrivai of nutrition of the planet is in the food products of whose origin process of homogenisation, ail and utilisation they are often the more because every time ignorant. The former countries local food habits change, some purchase and teste; the latter species disappear - since they countries often stert to grow and are no longer being used, they sell. For each of thèse groups are no longer cultivated. we hâve conceived this guide, However, paradoxically in certain to présent to Western nations régions the diversity of food the food plants used in Oceania, plants has never been ail that and to show to the Oceanians great. The major explorations the origin and utilisation of the of the 16th to the IS"1 centuries, plants that hâve been introduced conversion to Christianity of the to their région. worlds discovered by Western z x LU O O u_ O L/l LU O at i u The work has as its setting The climatic upheavals occurring Vanuatu - a small island nation during the Quaternary era in the South Pacific situated encouraged the movement of between the 14* and 16* populations from Sunda to Sahul. parallels - and as its focus the The first human of Sahul was food plants that are found there probably a Homo sapiens as is at the présent time. The islands shown by dating carried out in of Vanuatu are young islands, Australia. Before the last lise in formed for the most part from sea levels, the continental islands the seismic convulsions that were much larger landmasses. shake this part of the world Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan, where the Australo-Indian the great islands of Indonesia, tectonic plate moves under the were joined to the Indochinese Pacific plate. Thèse pièces of peninsula, just as the Philippines land hâve been colonised since were connected to Sunda by some their formation by plant species tongues of land. Between Sunda that hâve corne from elsewhere, and Sahul there were some chains carried by winds, océan currents of tell islands, visible from far or birds. When humans first away. By calculating the angles arrived on thèse islands they of inter-visibility between thèse certainly found edible species islands, one can work out two there, but at the same time they possible routes that would allow also brought with them their people to pass from one continent own familiar plants. The story to the other without ever losing of the food plants of Vanuatu is sight of land. One route goes via thus also the story of the human Sulawesi and Halmahera, and migrations that hâve populated the other - further south - via thèse islands. Flores and Timor. Once on Sahul, the first Australian people would Before the last Ice Age, about hâve been able to reach Tasmania 10,000 years ago, Papua New on foot. Humans would likewise Guinea, mainland Australia and hâve been able to go to the Tasmania were joined into a Solomon Islands while always single large continent, the Sahul. having an island in sight to guide Further east, what is now the them. Thus in New Ireland the archipelago of Solomon Islands présence of humans is traced was a single long strip of land, back for over 33,000 years from stretching from Buka (situated datings made at the sites of north of the island of Bougain- Matenkupkum and Buang ville) to Guadalcanal. Between Mebarak. Sunda, the continental plate of Southeast Asia, and Sahul were The origin of the cultivated plants various islands grouped under the of Oceania has been the subject name of Wallacea (see map p. 12) of numerous studies, and it has because they were situated on for a long time been accepted •X the biogeographical Une (named that thèse plants were introduced z after Wallace) that séparâtes from Asia with the first migrat- U_ o LU or LU O QC X O The Austronesians, a mongoloid extending from the Indian Penin- people who later colonised the sula to Papua New Guinea, the rest of Oceania, introduced the Oceanian centre is clearly differ- use of végétative plants to ail of entiated on the basis of factors Polynesia, as far as the islands that are as much biogeographical of Hawaii and Easter Island. as human. The existence of According to linguiste, certain a centre of domestication and groups of Austronesians from diversification in the Sahul then Southeast Kalimantan set off raises some interesting questions in the opposite direction over on the originality of the forms 3,000 years ago and colonised that are cultivated there and their the large island of Madagascar. genetic distances with regard to Their plants, loaded on cata- other forms of the same species, marans and kept alive throughout or to related species, originating the voyage, were spread in clonal from Sunda. In certain cases, the form to places thousands of kilo- intraspecific differentiation of mètres away. Bananas, tero and pantropical species - Dioscorea the yam Dioscorea alata thus bulbifera, for example - is very reached Africa via Madagascar. significant. In other cases, for Récent work has shown that example sugar cane, the hybridi- banana was already grown in sation of distinct species origi- Central Africa more than 2,500 nating from the two large land- years ago. masses of Sunda and Sahul has allowed remarkable genetic The question of the introduction of gains to be made. sweet poteto (Ipomoea batatas) to Papua New Guinea has used Melanesia has a diversity of plants up a huge amount of ink, since with végétative propagation and it was already the staple food with roots and tubers, that is crop in the highlands before their unequalled anywhere else on "discovery" by European explor- Earth in numbers of gênera, of ers, and was likewise already species and of varieties cultivated cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands within each species. The cultural before the arrivai of Captain Cook. diversity of this région, unique Melanesia is nowadays considered in the world (a tiny country like to be a second centre of diversifi- Vanuatu has 113 languages and cation of this species. The diversity Papua New Guinea has over 600), found in /. batatas in this région combined with island environ- is greater than that found in the ments that favour differentiation, Peru-Ecuador région, which was hâve produced spectacular varia- not the origin of the Melanesian bility. Populations coming from germplasm, and récent molecular the Asian région, from New studies suggest rather a Central Guinea and from Solomon American origin. Islands, and later returning from Polynesia, stayed in the Oceanian Contrary to commonly held région, continental or island, and