Abstract

Plant breeding in certain situations may lead to the domestication of wild plants. Domestication of plants is an artificial selection process conducted by humans to produce plants that have more desirable traits than wild plants, and which renders them dependent on artificial (usually enhanced) environments for their continued existence. On the other hand, breeding new crops is important for ensuring food security by developing new varieties that are higher-yielding, resistant to pests and diseases, drought-resistant or regionally adapted to different environments and growing conditions. For these reasons using endemic and wild plants is necessary and it is vital to save the extinct varieties. Due to these reasons, this review tries to introduce the extinct endemic vegetable of Iran with explanation of their anatomy, distribution, and local consumption for future usage of plant breeders.

Key words: Endemic plant, extinct vegetable, domestication, wild vegetable.