Food Plants of China

This is an encyclopedic, two-part introduction to the edible plants of China. Part I introduces the cultural aspects of Chinese food plants and the spread Chinese culinary culture to the outside world. It also describes how botanical and cultural information was acquired, which plants have been selected by the Chinese people for food, how these foodstuffs are produced, preserved, and prepared, and what lessons can be learned from Chinese practices. Part II provides the botanical identification of the plant kingdom for the esculents used in China as food and/or for beverage. The plants are illustrated with line drawings or composite photographs.