• leftzero@lemmynsfw.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    1 month ago

    Pomegranates are one of the oldest cultivated fruits, so they’re somewhat plausible, but I’m fairly certain humans made oranges (and most other citruses, through selection and grafting… though I guess it could have been a mandarin, pomelo, or citron, which seem to be the three we started with) and bananas (through selection and cloning), so it couldn’t have been those.

    Apples, on the other hand, seem to have existed long before humans, so they’re definitely a possibility.

    It was probably some kind of nut, though.

    • Whelks_chance@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      1 month ago

      I’ve been wondering about this for a while, and I’ve come to the conclusion that blackberries are probably the original thing. Brambles grow like weeds all over Europe, I don’t think anyone is cultivating them to be different. Apples definitely have had a human hand in selecting the best apples to start fresh orchards with.

      I’m open to correction though.

    • Homescool@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      30 days ago

      Apples existed, but they looked and tasted nothing like they do now. Today’s apples are sweet and swole and that’s brought to you by selective breeding and a growth strategy that extended beyond cider to dominate the mobile phone industry.