Plants associated with the Columbian Exchange radically changed both the economy and culture of the New and Old Worlds. European travelers returned home with plants from the New World, for example beans, squash, cooked peppers, sunflowers, peanuts, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, avocados, and pineapples. Regardless, the two most important plants in the New World were the potato and corn. In the long term, they would affect people in the Old World and today. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Corn (maize) is an important New World yield committed to the Columbian Exchange. It was constantly essential to the social orders of Central America because it could be dried and stored for long periods of time. It was actually transferred to Europe due to its versatile nature and would in the long run be developed in a wide range of regions around the world. The introduction of corn to the Old World, alongside other New World foods, caused population growth as the new food sources helped strengthen social orders. Potatoes originated in South America, but were shipped to the Old World where they became a key commodity. will be part of the diet of many Europeans for quite a long time to come. The potato was important because it could withstand cold temperatures and grow in moderately fragile soil. In particular, the potato would be imperative to Ireland in particular and in the 19th century Ireland was so subject to the potato as a food source that the "Irish Potato Famine" in the 1840s and 1850s brought mass famine and migration from Ireland. Around two-fifths of the population relied exclusively on potatoes as a food source, and when a potato disease devastated yields, it had sensational consequences for Ireland and the Irish people. The Irish population fell by around 20-25% between long periods of famine. Many Old World plants were introduced to the New World and had a huge impact on the Americas. Above all, Old World yields, such as wheat and cereals, ended the staple crops of the American prairies. An increasingly explicit case of an Old World crop was sugar cane. Sugar cane truly represented a critical yield. Christopher Columbus brought the crop to the Caribbean on his second voyage to the Americas. The new yield flourished in the New World with the establishment of sugarcane estates in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. Sugar is used in many foods today and has since proven to be one of the most profitable crops of all time. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Personalized Trial Espresso was developed in Africa and the Middle East before moving to the Americas. Once it arrived in the New World, espresso became an important new production in Central and South America. It has remained an important production of the region due to its ability to grow effectively in the atmosphere of Central and South America. Today, espresso is a common drink around the world.