The African milk plant, known by its botanical name Euphorbia tirucalli, is a fascinating succulent that has been used medicinally for centuries. With its unique pencil-shaped stems and toxic white sap, this plant certainly stands out. But despite its long history of use, the exact origins of the African milk plant have remained shrouded in mystery. In this article, we’ll explore the historical clues that help shed light on this plant’s elusive beginnings.
A Staple of Traditional African Medicine
The milk plant has an extensive history of use in traditional African medicine. Indigenous cultures in countries such as South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania have relied on the plant’s sap to treat a variety of ailments. Applications include removing warts, treating malaria and stomach problems, and inducing vomiting as a purgative. The Zulus in South Africa have long used the sap as an insecticide as well.
This widespread traditional use across Africa provides the first hints that the plant originated somewhere on the continent. But Africa is vast, leaving us unsure of exactly where it first grew in the wild
The Arab Trade Route Theory
In the 19th century, European explorers took interest in the milk plant’s medicinal properties. Around this time, a theory emerged that Arab traders brought the plant from Africa to India along ancient trade routes.
The Arab trade routes connected sub-Saharan Africa to India and the Middle East for centuries, facilitating the exchange of goods and ideas. The arid climate of the routes’ paths also suits the milk plant’s drought-tolerant nature Thus, traders could have reasonably brought the milk plant along these routes from its native East Africa to cultivated areas in India and beyond.
The Migration Through Madagascar Theory
Another competing theory suggests the milk plant first emerged in mainland Africa, but migrated by human means to Madagascar off Africa’s east coast. Evidence indicates early African settlers brought many plant species with them when populating Madagascar.
From this isolated island, the milk plant could have then gradually spread via settlers to India and southeast Asia, dispersing far from its original African home.
Clues Found in Genetics and Distribution
Modern genetic analysis and mapping of wild milk plant populations provide further clues. Studies show the greatest genetic diversity by far occurs in plant groups centered in southern and eastern Africa. This diversity typically indicates a species originated there. Insights from distribution maps that highlight higher densities of wild milk plants in these same regions reinforce this as the place of origin.
But a definitive answer still requires more research. Advanced genetic testing on wild specimens may someday pinpoint the exact origins. For now, southern or eastern Africa seems the most likely cradle based on historical medicinal use, trade route theories, genetics, and modern plant distribution patterns. The journey to uncovering the African milk plant’s origins has just begun!
Despite centuries of medicinal use and popularity, the origins of the African milk plant have long remained shrouded in mystery. However, clues in traditional practices, trade route theories, genetic research, and plant distribution suggest an origin in southern or eastern Africa. As scientific techniques advance, we may someday know the exact place this intriguing milk plant first sprouted. But until then, the detective work continues on uncovering the full story behind this plant’s elusive beginnings. One thing is certain – this plant has traveled a long way from its wild African roots to become the globally recognized succulent it is today.
New research shows milk consumption in eastern Africa began before the evolution of lactase persistence
Tracking milk drinking in the ancient past is not straightforward. For decades, archaeologists have tried to reconstruct the practice by various indirect methods. They have looked at ancient rock art to identify scenes of animals being milked and at animal bones to reconstruct kill-off patterns that might reflect the use of animals for dairying. More recently, they even used scientific methods to detect traces of dairy fats on ancient pots. But none of these methods can say if a specific individual consumed milk.
Now archaeological scientists are increasingly using proteomics to study ancient dairying. By extracting tiny bits of preserved proteins from ancient materials, researchers can detect proteins specific to milk, and even specific to the milk of particular species.
Where are these proteins preserved? One critical reservoir is dental calculus — dental plaque that has mineralized and hardened over time. Without toothbrushes, many ancient people couldnt remove plaque from their teeth, and so developed a lot of calculus. This may have led to tooth decay and pain for our ancestors but it also produced a goldmine of information about ancient diets, with plaque often trapping food proteins and preserving them for thousands of years.
Now, an international team led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany and the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) in Nairobi, Kenya have analyzed some of the most challenging ancient dental calculus to date. Their new study, published in Nature Communications, examines calculus from human remains in Africa, where high temperatures and humidity were thought to interfere with protein preservation.
The team analyzed dental calculus from 41 adult individuals from 13 ancient pastoralist sites excavated in Sudan and Kenya and, remarkably, retrieved milk proteins from 8 of the individuals.
The positive results were greeted with enthusiasm by the team. As lead author Madeleine Bleasdale observes, “some of the proteins were so well preserved, it was possible to determine what species of animal the milk had come from. And some of the dairy proteins were many thousands of years old, pointing to a long history of milk drinking in the continent.”
The earliest milk proteins reported in the study were identified at Kadruka 21, a cemetery site in Sudan dating to roughly 6,000 years ago. In the calculus of another individual from the adjacent cemetery of Kadruka 1, dated to roughly 4,000 years ago, researchers were able to identify species-specific proteins and found that the source of the dairy had been goats milk.
“This the earliest direct evidence to date for the consumption of goats milk in Africa,” says Bleasdale. “Its likely goats and sheep were important sources of milk for early herding communities in more arid environments.”
The team also discovered milk proteins in dental calculus from an individual from Lukenya Hill, an early herder site in southern Kenya dated to between 3,600 and 3,200 years ago.
“It seems that animal milk consumption was potentially a key part of what enabled the success and long-term resilience of African pastoralists,” observes coauthor Steven Goldstein.
As research on ancient dairying intensifies around the world, Africa remains an exciting place to examine the origins of milk drinking. The unique evolution of lactase persistence in Africa, combined with the fact that animal milk consumption remains critical to many communities across the continent, makes it vital for understanding how genes and culture can evolve together.
Normally, lactase — an enzyme critical for enabling the body to fully digest milk — disappears after childhood, making it much more difficult for adults to drink milk without discomfort. But in some people, lactase production persists into adulthood — in other words these individuals have lactase persistence.
In Europeans, there is one main mutation linked to lactase persistence, but in different populations across Africa, there are as many as four. How did this come to be? The question has fascinated researchers for decades. How dairying and human biology co-evolved has remained largely mysterious despite decades of research.
By combining their findings about which ancient individuals drank milk with genetic data obtained from some of the ancient African individuals, the researchers were also able to determine whether early milk drinkers on the continent were lactase persistent. The answer was no. People were consuming dairy products without the genetic adaptation that supports milk drinking into adulthood.
This suggests that drinking milk actually created the conditions that favoured the emergence and spread of lactase persistence in African populations. As senior author and Max Planck Director Nicole Boivin notes, “This is a wonderful example of how human culture has — over thousands of years — reshaped human biology.”
But how did people in Africa drink milk without the enzyme needed to digest it? The answer may lie in fermentation. Dairy products like yogurt have a lower lactose content than fresh milk, and so early herders may have processed milk into dairy products that were easier to digest.
Critical to the success of the research was the Max Planck scientists close partnership with African colleagues, including those at the National Corporation of Antiquities and Museums (NCAM), Sudan, and long-term collaborators at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK). “Its great to get a glimpse of Africas important place in the history of dairying,” observes coauthor Emmanuel Ndiema of the NMK. “And it was wonderful to tap the rich potential of archaeological material excavated decades ago, before these new methods were even invented. It demonstrates the ongoing value and importance of museum collections around the world, including in Africa.”
Story Source:
Materials provided by Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Madeleine Bleasdale, Kristine K. Richter, Anneke Janzen, Samantha Brown, Ashley Scott, Jana Zech, Shevan Wilkin, Ke Wang, Stephan Schiffels, Jocelyne Desideri, Marie Besse, Jacques Reinold, Mohamed Saad, Hiba Babiker, Robert C. Power, Emmanuel Ndiema, Christine Ogola, Fredrick K. Manthi, Muhammad Zahir, Michael Petraglia, Christian Trachsel, Paolo Nanni, Jonas Grossmann, Jessica Hendy, Alison Crowther, Patrick Roberts, Steven T. Goldstein, Nicole Boivin. Ancient proteins provide evidence of dairy consumption in eastern Africa. Nature Communications, 2021; 12 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20682-3
Cite This Page:
Discovering the Untold: 12 Ways Africa Civilized Earth
FAQ
Where did the African milk plant come from?
What does the African Milk Tree symbolize?
What is the African Milk Tree used for?
When was milk tree first introduced?
Do African milk trees bloom outdoors?
Outdoor plants may bloom under the right conditions. Is African milk tree really a “tree?” When grown outdoors, this large succulent can take on its characteristic candelabra shape and grow up to 9 feet tall. For this reason, this plant is sometimes referred to as a “tree.”
How do you grow an African milk tree from seed?
As soon as you see root growth, transplant the plant into a slightly larger, 6-inch pot. Growing an African milk tree from seed is not recommended. The seeds are difficult to find and even more difficult and slow to germinate. Instead, propagate the plant using the cutting method above.
What is an African milk tree?
There is one variety of the African milk tree, Euphorbia trigona f. rubra, also referred to as ‘Royal Red’. It has striking maroon or vibrant red leaves. African milk tree grows very tall and has a comparatively small and shallow root system. For this reason, older plants may become top-heavy, or even topple over, making pruning a necessity.
How long does it take to grow an African milk tree?
Place the pot in a warm area with sufficient light and a temperature between 65 and 75 F, but out of direct sunlight. The cutting should root within two months. As soon as you see root growth, transplant the plant into a slightly larger, 6-inch pot. Growing an African milk tree from seed is not recommended.