Where do Sesame Seeds come from?

I know where poppy seeds come from,

and sunflower seeds too.  These flourish in my garden:

.

In past years I’ve planted flax seeds and seen them flower both blue and red…

but as I was falling asleep one night I wondered… 

Where do Sesame Seeds come from?

I’ve never grown these.

So, I looked it up. On the Internet, of course. (Why do I keep that World Book set anyway?)

And now I know. 

According to Wikipedia, they come from a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum! (would you believe!) “Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods.”

I read on to find that  the sesame seed has been domesticated for at least 3000 years and there’s evidence that it was once a major crop in the Middle East.  It’s drought tolerant and oil-rich, making it a favorite in places where nothing else will grow.  India exports the most sesame seeds and Japan imports the most.  And that’s the bare bones of where sesame seeds come from. Just in case you ever wondered…

And if you want to know just a little more…look here.

[Shutterstock photo]

If your curiosity knows no bounds, you’ll enjoy this lovely little blog post featuring eleven foods that grow in unexpected ways. The cashew takes the prize for The Surprising-est!

And with that foray into things unknown, I will return to my own familiar garden and the seeds growing there today!

 

 

--LS

And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth."

And it was so.  The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good. Gen.1:11,12     Amen! and Amen!

All creation sings His praise!

Sharing Nature

One of the great joys of grandparenting  for me is sharing nature with my citified grandkids.

Everything is a marvel, whether ladybug or snake, thunder or campfire. 

One morning we found a bumblebee immobile with cold on great-Grandad’s marigold.  We carried it into the sunshine and watched as it slowly began to move its limbs, test it wings, creep about and at last  fly away. What wonder.

 

Then hand-in-hand the one grand-daughter and I walked up the road discovering wayside flowers—tiny insignificant things to every other passerby, but us.  We collected pictures.

Another day we all took a trek into the scary bush and down to the stream. 

We found no bears, but there was a snake to hold.

(and yes, he did hold it bravely, until it pee’d!)

Rocks and water make a playground like no other…

complete with balancing beam!

 

And for baby there was moss…

…and on another day—shivery water!

We had first campfires (scary!)

and first S’mores.

We beached and sunbathed.

And ate a little sand I suppose.

 

And baby had his first watermelon

It’s a wonder-full thing sharing nature with the grandkids!

--LS

Children’s children are the crown of old men (and women?!),
And the glory of children is their father. Prov.17:6