Walk around a farmers' market or the fruit and vegetable aisles in a supermarket and the overwhelming impression is the sheer abundance of colour, form, smell and anticipated flavour. But talk to a botanist, and they will say that it is in fact rather a poor show. Of Earth's estimated 400,000 plant species, we could eat some 300,000, armed with the right imagination, boldness and preparation. Yet humans, possibly the supreme generalist, eat a mere 200 species globally, and half our plant-sourced protein and calories come from just three: maize, rice and wheat.
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