Soon after Mother’s day each year I plant a few chili pepper plants, cilantro and some basil in a small garden area by the garage. With enough pavement between the edibles and the woods to confuse the deer a little, we generally enjoy at least a partial harvest. There’s something elementally satisfying in adding fresh picked anything to your dinner plate. There’s also reassurance in knowing that these home-grown contributions are enhancements. Not necessities. 
In addition to planting their own cliff top gardens of corn, beans and squash, the Sinagua people of Walnut Canyon made good use of wild growing native plants. The Gambel oak provided sweet acorns, a dietary staple. Fruit and flower petals from the banana yucca were also part of the Sinagua diet. 
I’m always wondering who went first. You know… who, for instance, popped a prickly pear cacti fruit in their mouth and survived, opening up a little more variety on the dinner menu? 
Who thought to pound the roots of a yucca plant to make shampoo, and when did daily life settle down enough to even put personal hygiene on the radar? Which ancient first sampled the Mormon Tea plant (Ephedra viridis), discovering its stimulant qualities, and how much did people rely on the evergreen to stay alert to the dangers and opportunities in their world?
Establishing both the helpful and harmful plant life would have been fundamental to survival. It would have been precious knowledge, committed to memory and handed with care to succeeding generations.
But don’t you wonder about the brave souls who went first? Without the approval of the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration)?
I’m like you here, always thinking who the first brave soul was to taste the unknown and what made them even think about doing it. Prickly pears? Not for me but I am partial to prickly pear chocolate.
I have to add my voice to the chorus of wonderers here. Who first popped an oyster in their mouth, or discovered that water was good to drink AND wash clothes in? Whoever they were, we owe these doughty pioneers a huge debt of gratitude.
Cate: I cannot even pass through the Sky Harbor airport (Phoenix) without picking up prickly pear something! Haven’t tried the chocolate yet, though…
NothingProfound: There you go! I do love oysters -but only because someone else did first! Don’t you wonder what useful things we’ve yet to discover in nature? Maybe there’s actually something good about mosquitoes! I’m not eating any, though.
I’ve always thought about those who first ate those colourful berries or similar for others to note that it was seriously poisonous.
Who was the first person to say, “Hey, I have an idea, lets take a chicken egg and fry it????????
Or, lets let stuff rot, drink it, and we have alcohol LOL
Nice article!
Intrepid! So nice to hear from you!! Thanks for the V’s Day smooch. Back at ya!