This disappeared from the Internet after I wrote Awesome Thanksgiving Science last year so I found an archive version before it disappears for good.
Original link: http://www.kimmerer.com/a-botanical-guide-to-thanksgiving-dinner/
Here is a list of all the plants that we ate this Thanksgiving dinner. We made our usual dinner for 10 people, family and guests. Below the plant list is a list of the dishes we made. Corn appears in many items that may not be obvious, such as mashed potatoes. However, turkey and dairy products are made from animals fed almost entirely on corn. So any item containing dairy products is listed as containing corn. The total number of plants is 42, though a few are different varieties of the same species. Sugar is of two potential sources, sugar cane and beet sugar. It happens that all the sugar we have on hand is cane sugar. Sugar not labeled as cane sugar is generally beet sugar.
We’d be interested in any other plants that you might have eaten this Thanksgiving. Please add in comments, and tell us both what plant you used (don’t worry about the species name and family) and in what dish you used the plant.
| Common name | Species | Family | Dish |
| kiwi | Actinidia deliciosa | Actinidiaceae | 15 |
| red onion | Allium cepa | Alliaceae | 4 |
| yellow onion | Allium cepa | Alliaceae | 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 14 |
| spinach | Spinacia oleracea | Amaranthaceae | 15 |
| garlic | Allium sativum | Amaryllidaceae | 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11 |
| green onions | Allium cepa | Amaryllidaceae | 11 |
| celery | Apium graveolens | Apiaceae | 2, 3, 11 |
| collard greens | Brassica oleracea | Brassicaceae | 5 |
| kale | Brassica oleracea | Brassicaceae | 5 |
| rape (oil) | Brassica napus | Brassicaceae | 15 |
| turnip greens | Brassica rapa | Brassicaceae | 5 |
| pineapple | Anana comus | Bromeliaceae | 7 |
| sweet potatoes | Ipomoea batatas | Convolulaceae | 8 |
| pumpkin | Cucurbita pepo | Cucurbitaceae | 14 |
| cranberry | Vaccinium macrocarpon | Ericaceae | 3, 1 |
| green beans | Phaseoulus vulgaris | Fabaceae | 4 |
| peanut (oil) | Arachis hypogaea | Fabaceae | 1, 2, 3 |
| soy (oil) | Glycine max | Fabaceae | 15 |
| pecans | Carya illinoiensis | Juglandaceae | 8 |
| marjoram | Majorana hortensis | Lamiaceae | 1, 2, 3 |
| rosemary | Rosmarinus officinalis | Lamiaceae | 1, 2, 3 |
| sage | Salvia officinalis | Lamiaceae | 1, 2, 3 |
| thyme | Thymus vulgaris | Lamiaceae | 1, 4, 11 |
| cinnamon | Cinnamomum verum | Lauraceae | 14 |
| fig | Ficus sp. | Moraceae | 3, |
| Cavendish banana | Musa acuminata | Musaceae | 7, 15 |
| nutmeg | Myristica sp. | Myristicaceae | 11, 14 |
| cloves | Syzygium aromaticum | Myrtaceae | 14 |
| olive (oil) | Olea europea | Oleaceae | 4, 5, 8, 11 |
| vanilla | Vanilla planifolia | Orchidaceae | 14 |
| black pepper | Piper nigrum | Piperaceae | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11, 15 |
| corn | Zea mays | Poaceae | 1,2,3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 16 |
| sugar cane | Saccharum sp. | Poaceae | 7, 8, 10, 14 |
| wheat | Triticum aestivum | Poaceae | 3, 16 |
| apple | Malus sp. | Rosaceae | 1,3,5 |
| cherries | Prunus avium | Rosaceae | 13 |
| strawberry | Fraxinum x ananassa | Rosaceae | 7, 15 |
| lemon | Citrus limon | Rutaceae | 1, 11 |
| navel orange | Citrus sinensis | Rutaceae | 15 |
| tangelo | Citrus x tangelo | Rutaceae | 15 |
| potatoes | Solanum tuberosum | Solanaceae | 9 |
| ginger | Zingiber offinale | Zingiberaceae | 14 |
Dishes:
| 1 | Cranberry-Glazed Turkey |
| 2 | Corn Bread Dressing |
| 3 | Fruit bread dressing |
| 4 | Green Beans&Red Onions |
| 5 | Greens in apple cider |
| 6 | Rolls & Butter |
| 7 | Strawberry Jello Salad |
| 8 | Sweet potatoes with Pecans, Brown Sugar |
| 9 | Mashed potatoes |
| 10 | Cranberry Sauce |
| 11 | Southern Oyster Casserole |
| 12 | Apple Cider |
| 13 | Cherry Cider |
| 14 | Pumpkin pie |
| 15 | Green salad with fruit |
| 16 | macaroni & cheese |
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