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harvest collection
African/American Heirloom Seeds
Old Salem Museums & Gardens honors garden heritage with
this unique offering of seeds from plants native to Africa
and seeds from plants traditionally associated with African
Americans. World history illuminates the early movement of
seeds and food between continents, and Africa is the source
of many seeds for food in the American diet. Seeds of foods
traditionally associated with African Americans give evidence
to history, culture, relationship, and memory.
Old Salem Horticulture developed the seed collection with
guidance from the local Black community and consultation
with culinary historian Michael W. Twitty. It includes
heirloom vegetables, herbs, and flowers growing in America
by 1900. Three heirloom seed companies supply the
collection: Seed Savers Exchange, Southern Exposure Seed
Exchange, and D. Landreth Seed Company.
Take some history home to plant in your own
garden—delicious, beautiful, and fragrant possibilities!
originally from africa
Asparagus Pea (Lotus tetragonolobus) likely from northwest
Africa; a legume not related to either asparagus or peas;
mentioned as early as 1734 in America.
Benne* / Sesame (Sesamum indicum) came to the Carolinas
with enslaved Africans who cultivated this essential food
and medicinal. Later use as a commodity oil crop (sesame)
deteriorated flavor. Old fashioned, richly flavored
seed offered.
Black-Eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia alata) native to Eastern
Africa; fast-growing climber with vibrant yellow blooms and
dark centers; tender perennial, usually treated as an annual.
Bush Bean ‘Kebarika’ (Phaseolus vulgaris) heirloom from
Kenya; used for soup, baking, or dried.
Burr Gherkin (Cucumis anguria) originated in West Africa; to
the New World in the 1500s and introduced to the U.S from
Jamaica in the 1790s. Eaten raw, pickled or cooked.
Cockscomb (Celosia cristata) aka rooster comb; well known as
an ornamental in America; edible leaves and flowers are one of
the main boiled greens in West Africa.
Cowpea ‘Whippoorwill’, ‘California Black-eyed Pea’
(Vigna unguiculata subsp. ungiculata) originated in west-central
Africa (Cameroon and Nigeria) and came to the Americas
during the slave trade. ‘Whipporwill’ is an old standard;
‘California Black-eyed’ is the familiar pale pea with prominent
black spot. In Africa cowpeas are often intercropped with
sorghum.
Eritrean Basil (Ocimum gratissimum) a family heirloom
brought to America by an Eritrean exchange student; much
used in African cuisine.
Finger Millet ‘Dragon’s Claw’ (Eleusine coracana) native to
the Ethiopian highlands; often intercropped with peanuts and
cowpeas. Finger millet can be ground and cooked into cakes,
puddings or porridge; the grain is also made into beer; the straw
used as an animal fodder.
Gourd ‘Birdhouse’, ‘Long Handled Dipper’ (Lagenaria
siceraria) Gourds are one of the first cultivated plants in the
world and are believed to have originated in southern Africa;
grown primarily for use as water containers, as well as cleaning
rice, storing food, and as musical instruments.
Huckleberry, Garden (Solanum melanocerasum) Great in pies
or as jam. Tasteless when raw and unsweetened, the small black
berries are prolific but should only be eaten when fully mature
and cooked, as the green ones may be toxic.
Okra ‘Choppee’, ‘’Burgundy’ (Abelmoschus esculentus)
Originated in west-central Africa (Cameroon and Nigeria).
‘Choppee’ comes from the Jacobs family of Georgetown, S.C.
ca. 1850; ‘Burgundy’ was introduced in 1893 after years of
selection for red pods at Clemson University.
Pepper ‘Fatalii’ (Capsicum chinense) a chili pepper that
originated in central and southern Africa; it has a fruity,
citrus flavor with heat that is comparable to Habenero.
Purple Hyacinth Bean (Lablab purpureus) originated in the
Ethiopian highlands; vine produces showy lavender blooms
with striking purple pods; in Kenya plant parts are eaten but dry
seeds are poisonous.
Sorghum ‘Black Amber Cane’*, ‘Red Broomseed Corn’
(Sorghum bicolor) originated from the savannas that stretch
across Africa (Sudan to Mauritania).
Watermelon ‘Moon & Stars’, ‘Georgia Rattlesnake’ (Citrullus
lanatus) originated from the savannas that stretch across Africa
(Sudan to Mauritania). ‘Moon & Stars’ was developed in
America; ‘Georgia Rattlesnake’ is an old Southern favorite from
the 1830s.
traditionally associated with/
used by african americans
Basil ‘Lettuce Leaf ’ (Ocimum basilicum) According to Michael
W. Twitty, basil was grown at the dooryard for good luck and to
prevent negative energy from the household.
Beet ‘Early Blood Turnip’* (Beta vulgaris) is one of the oldest
surviving table beets in America. This “turnip-rooted” beet
grows rapidly and stores well.
Cabbage ‘Charleston Wakefield’ (Brassica oleracea)
Historically used by African American cooks as a base for
Low Country “vegetable bunch” soup, according to Michael
W. Twitty.
Cabbage ‘Savoy’ (Brassica oleracea var. bullata) known as
“savory” cabbage and prized for great-tasting crinkled leaves that
last through the winter.
Collards - ‘Georgia Southern’, ‘Green Glaze’, ‘Yellow
Cabbage’* (Brassica oleracea) ‘Georgia Southern’ is a pre-1880
old Southern favorite heirloom; ‘Green Glaze’ was introduced
in 1820 by David Landreth. ‘Yellow Cabbage’ is a heading
collard popular in eastern North Carolina.
Creasy Greens / Upland Cress (Barbarea verna) European
heirloom cultivated since the 1600s; cooked greens served with
buttermilk corn bread is traditional Southern meal; easy to grow
and very nutritious.
Cucumber ‘Ellen’s Family White Pickling’ (Cucumis sativus)
a North Carolina family heirloom of Ellen Stethens from the
Connely Springs area.
Eggplant Louisiana Long Green (Solanum melongena var.
esculentum) introduced by Africans and Spaniards into
Southern and Creole cuisine. Grown in the gardens of enslaved
Louisianans.
Lima Bean ‘Sieva’, ‘Henderson Bush (Dwarf Sieva)’, ‘Jackson
Wonder Butterbean’ (Phaseolus lunatus) large, flat, yellow/
white variety of lima bean often known as butterbeans in the
southern U.S. Sievas are native to South America and were
grown by Virginia Indians by the 1700s.
Mustard ‘Southern Giant Curled’ (Brassica juncea) traditional
Southern favorite from before 1880.
Parsley ‘Giant from Italy’ (Petroselinum crispum) to America
with European colonists; an old Southern African American
legend said it was unlucky to transplant parsley from the old
home to the new.
Peanut ‘Carolina Black’, ‘Jumbo’ (Arachis hypogaea) peanuts
came to Virginia during the slave trade; ‘Carolina Black’ is a
rare heirloom black-skinned peanut from N.C. grown during
the 1800s that may have been used as a substitute for black
Bambarra (African ground nut). Black Bambarra is important in
African folk medicine as an aphrodisiac. Unlike Black Bambarra,
the black peanut grows well in N.C.
Pepper ‘Fish’* (Capsicum annuum) African American
heirloom that began as a mutation of a Serrano pepper
sometime before the 1870s; traditional uses in oyster and
crab houses of the Chesapeake region.
Pole Bean ‘Lazy Wife Greasy’ (Phaseolus vulgaris) a North
Carolina heirloom going back to 1882. Beans grow in easy to
pick clusters and are stringless.
Red Malabar Spinach (Basella alba) native to tropical Asia
and widely used as a leaf vegetable. In Africa, shoots are
cooked; leaves are used in Callaloo, the Caribbean dish that
originated in West Africa.
Sage ‘Green Culinary’ (Salvia officinalis) according to
Michael W. Twitty, sage was used to season “cush,” a
precursor to Southern cornbread stuffing; sage also was made
into a medicinal tea.
Spearmint (Mentha spicata) according to Michael W. Twitty,
spearmint was used to make mint teas for centuries in West
Africa, and iced tea and mint juleps in the South.
Summer Squash ‘Summer Crookneck’, ‘Yellow
Crookneck’ (Curcurbita pepo) one of the oldest
documented varieties of squash; once grown by the Lenape
Indians who inhabited the Delaware Valley.
Sweet Corn ‘Stowell’s Evergreen’ (Zea mays) one of the
oldest sweet corns; originated as cross between Menomonie
Flour Corn and the Iroquois Northern Sugar Corn in 1848.
The kernels remain milky.
Tomato ‘Large Red’ (Lycopersicon lycopersicum) one of
the most commonly grown and best documented tomato
varieties in the country prior to the Civil War; enslaved
Africans were among the first to popularize the tomato in
the American South. For some time the tomato was believed
to be poisonous.
Turnip ‘Purple Top White’, ‘Seven Top’ (Brassica rapa)
'Purple Top' is a garden standard since before the 1880s.
*Listed on Slow Food's Ark of Taste.
'Seven Top' is a pre-1800 variety popularly used for spring
greens in the South.
Winter Squash ‘Green-Striped Cushaw’* (Curcurbita
mixta) aka Tennessee Sweet Potato Squash; popular variety
introduced in the late 1780s from Jamaica.
*Listed on Slow Food's Ark of Taste.
Homowo Harvest Collection exclusively available at:
The Garden Shop at T. Bagge Merchant
626 S. Main St. · Winston-Salem, NC 27101 · 336-721-7387
oldsalem.org/gardens