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Online Reference Links: Asian Crops in North America Link: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/history/lecture12/r_12-1.html Ginseng and Other Native Roots Link: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/ginsgold.html#ginseng History of Ginseng Link: http://www.oxford.net/~ginseng/history.htm History of Alfalfa in California Link: http://alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/publications/alfalfaHIST.htm Smooth Bromegrass Link: http://animalrangeextension.montana.edu/Articles/Forage/Species/Grasses/Smoothbromegrass.htm Crested Wheatgrass Link: http://www.bioone.org/bioone/?request=get-document&issn=1551-501X&volume=027&issue=01&page=0013 Native Siberian Crop Species By Francisco Aguilar, Bryan Barnsley, and Lance Nixon When it comes to plants being native to Siberia it would seem that there would be an extremely limited amount due to the harshness of weather, mainly the extreme cold conditions. A few of the main Siberian natives that are grown all over the United States include alfalfa, lettuce, asparagus, smooth bromegrass, and crested wheatgrass. There is no proven record of when alfalfa was first grown but it is known to be originated in central Asia. In 490 B.C., the Persians carried it into Greece with the invasion by Xerxes. After this the Romans who were fighting in Greece took it back to Rome in 146 B.C. The introduction into Spain was around 711 A.D. by the Moors from Northern Africa who were on a conquest in Spain. From Spain it moved into France, Belgium, and England. In 1519 Alfalfa was introduced to Mexico by Cortes, a Spaniard who was on a rampage through Mexico. Somewhere around 18 or 19 years later, Spain rampaged again in Peru and Chili but left alfalfa here also. In that century, it was brought to the Atlantic coast line of the United States but was not used by the Indian inhabitants or by the early European settlers at this time. In about 1853 or 1854 alfalfa was introduced into California and it was believed that it was brought in my Chili. In 1898 a man by the name of N.E. Hansen of South Dakota ma de a journey to Siberia in search of a more cold tolerable variety of alfalfa because he and many other farmers were having trouble growing this crop successfully in the colder conditions of the northern portions of the United States. Alfalfa is now grown all over the United States and in other parts of the world as well.