Chapter 2 - Arboriculture, ‘Botanical Imperialism’, and Plants on the Move

Summary

This chapter focuses on the appropriation and transplantation of new plants encountered during military campaigns abroad. This phenomenon, which was not exclusive to Roman generals but had various antecedents in earlier civilizations, forcefully entered Roman discourse on imperialism when even trees were displayed as spoils of war during triumphal celebrations. In elite versions of agricultural history such as Pliny’s, both the horticultural products of Roman Italy and of its new ‘imperial’ imports were considered as somehow instances of Roman civilizing processes of so-called barbarian landscapes. The chapter also discusses the possible modes of diffusion of new plants and cultivars around the empire: wealthy landowners who had properties in Italy and in various provinces, the military, who had notable geographic mobility, and traders.