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May. 14, 2009
Finding the Roots of an Ancient Crop
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Agave plants, probably best known as the source of tequila, were important as a food crop long before the invention of margaritas. Wendy Hodgson, botanist at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, says the plants were cultivated as far back as 800 AD in some parts of the Southwest. Trek through the Arizona desert to see where agaves were cultivated centuries ago and what remains of the ancient gardens.
Images by Annette Heist/Science Friday, Wendy Hodgson and Melissa Kruse-Peeples. Filmed and produced by Flora Lichtman
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