The seeds from Berenike and Shenshef are small in size. Because they were retrieved in small numbers from trash deposits, their identification to the level of subspecies is, however, not possible. Although they may belong to the microsperma group, it is also possible that we are dealing with the small specimens of macrosperma group that passed through the sieves during cleaning of the seeds prior to cooking.In many samples, from both Berenike and Shenshef, large quantities of bulb-coat leaves were found of a yet-unidentified plant species. These large quantities suggest that it was a valued food plant and that they must have been available on a regular scale. So far, only one intact specimen has been found. The size of the bulbs is relatively small, not exceeding 1 cm in length. The bulbs either belong to species that have increase bulbs , produced by the subterranean bulb, or to species, which produce bulbils in the inflorescence instead of the flowers. They could also belong to species that produce only small bulbs. It is plausible that we are dealing with a species of the genus Allium. Some species within this genus, such as the great-head garlic , can produce numerous bulbils, which is true for the Egyptian specimens in particular . The morphology and the anatomy of the bulbils from this onion species do not match, however, with the sub-fossil specimens.Like lentil, fl ax also belongs to the first group of crops that were domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. Flax holds a special position because it is not only grown as a food crop, but it is also exploited for its fibers. Today, fl ax is grown either for its seeds or for its fibers. Seed-yielding plants usually have short,10 plastic plant pots branched stems and produce large seeds, whereas fiber fl ax has taller, unbranched stems and produces smaller seeds .

The seeds are nutritious and contain 30 to 48 percent oil and 20 to 30 percent protein. Whole seeds can be used for garnishing loaves . Seeds can also be used as a source of vegetable oil and for making fl our. Linseed oil is obtained by cold pressing and can be used as cooking oil. The ancient Egyptians also used linseed oil for embalming bodies. Pounded linseed can be mixed with, for example, pulses and cereals. Pliny describes the making of barley porridge in which ground barley is mixed with pounded roasted coriander , salt, and linseed. In present-day Ethiopia, fl ax seeds are only used for making a stew called wot, which is a combination of pounded roasted linseed and pulses . Additionally, linseed was also used for all kinds of medical purposes. Pliny , for example, states that linseed together with ammi taken in wine is good for wounds caused by scorpions, creatures that have been frequently found during the excavations at Berenike. Today, linseed is still sold in spice markets for the treatment of abscesses and coughs . The fibers are extracted from the stem by a special procedure, which includes the bacterial breakdown of the softer tissue in stagnant water during a period of about 8 to 10 days. This is known as retting, a process in which the cellulose fibers become separated from each other. Flax fibers are the source of linen, which was used, among other things, for making dresses and sails. According to Pliny , sieves and meal sifters were made from fl ax fibers in Spain, whereas those in ancient Egypt were made from papyrus and rush . The use of flax as a source of fibers cannot be reconciled with the presence of fl ax seeds and a fruit fragment at Berenike and Shenshef. To produce fibers, much fresh water is needed for retting the stems, an essential step in the production process. This is not a problem in the Nile Valley, but is out of the question in desert settlements. The most likely explanation for its presence at Berenike and Shenshef is that the fl ax seeds were used in cooking, and possibly for oil extraction, and that they were traded.

The latter option is sustained by Pliny , who states that the disadvantage of growing fl ax, as it damages the land, is compensated in Egypt by the fact that it is used there in exchange for import items from Arabia and India. It is not clear from Pliny’s description whether fibers or seeds are meant. The Periplus Maris Erythraei makes no reference to the trade of fl ax. Judging by the water requirements on which fl ax cultivation relies, the Arabian Peninsula seems to be the most likely area to which it was exported. In trench BE96-14, a so-called twin-seed was found. Such double seeds stick together ventrally and originate from the same carpel. Twin-seeds are described from several samples collected in Ethiopia, including a sample from the Axum market . In most of these samples, twins-seeds were only sparsely present. A few samples from Haik , however, consisted predominantly of such twin-seeds. Twin-seeds of these samples were sown in an experimental field plot at Wageningen University , and those from Haik produced invariably plants with twin-seeds, indicating that this phenomenon is genetically determined.White lupin originates from the Mediterranean area. Its wild progenitor, now classified as Lupinus albus ssp. graecus Franco Silva, is native to the Aegean region . Apart from a single record from Pompeii, all other finds are recorded from Egypt. The first introduction into Egypt is, however, somewhat disputable. With the exception of a find in Dra Abu el-Naga from the Twenty second Dynasty , all other records are dated to the Roman period or later . White lupin is still a popular legume in Egypt. Almost all legumes are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen in their roots in association with bacteria of the genus Rhizobium. A precondition is, however, that the particular rhizobial strain is present in the soil. Owing to this capability of fixing nitrogen, legumes are considered natural fertilizers and can grow in poor soils. The ancient Greeks were already familiar with this phenomenon, and it has been explicitly mentioned for white lupin, among some other legumes, by Cato .

Seeds of white lupin have a relatively high oil content of 11 to 18 percent and also a high protein content of up to 45 percent . Up until the 1920s, when a sweet alkaloid-free type became available, the steeping or boiling of white lupin seeds was necessary before consumption. According to Dalby , this pulse was not considered a high standard food in the Greek diet. White lupin can be fed to animals, but the presence of the bitter alkaloid may cause the disease lupinosis in sheep and horses, especially when these animals consume large concentrations. Seeds of the white lupin are also recommended by Pliny for the treatment of stomach disorders. Even at present-day markets in Egypt, white lupins are sold for medical purposes, such as skin inflammations, acne, diabetes, and liver complaints . The white lupin has been regularly found at Berenike and Shenshef. There is a marked contrast between whole seeds, which are perfectly preserved but are only seldom found, and damaged seeds, from which a reasonable number of seed-coat fragments are preserved. This difference in frequency can be explained by the way the seeds are eaten. After having been soaked in water,plastic pots large the seeds are cooked and eaten as a snack in which the soft content is sucked out and the leathery seed coats are discarded. Possibly, damaged seeds are less resistant to decay. Because of the unfavorable preservation of the broken seeds, it is possible that the white lupin is underrepresented in the archaeobotanical record. The white lupin was probably imported from the Nile Valley.The primary center of origin of the apple is located in parts of temperate Asia, its real center of origin however is obscured by the many existing varieties of both wild and cultivated apples. Even today, hybridization between wild and cultivated apples still occurs. The apple tree is adapted to cooler temperate climates as a chilling phase is necessary to break bud dormancy so that branches can produce their flowers . In present Egypt, apples are cultivated in the Marsah Matruh, located in the western Mediterranean coastal zone and are among the fruit crops in Egypt whose productivity is increasing . Apples can be propagated by seeds, as is the case with wild apples, or by vegetative reproduction attained by grafting or budding, which is common practice with cultivated races. The advantage of vegetative reproduction is twofold: the life cycle of new trees is shortened, and established features are no longer affected by recombination. The technique of vegetative propagation was already known in classical times. Theophrastus , for example, points out that apples, among some other fruit trees, can be best propagated by root suckers, whereas those raised from seeds will only produce inferior fruits. The presence of some pips at Berenike demonstrates the appreciation of this fruit, which most probably must have been imported from the Mediterranean area.

The only other archaeobotanical record of apple, mentioned as M. sylvestris Mill, is from Greek-Roman Douch in the Kharga Oasis , where leafy branches, a core fragment, and a pip were found .Persea is a member of the Sapotaceae, a plant family that has a pantropical distribution and is not represented in Egypt today. Persea is a tall tree adapted to arid conditions and is especially found on rocky slopes. It is native to Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and adjacent parts of Somalia, but is also widely cultivated outside this area including Egypt . The oval greenish berries of the persea tree are about 3 to 4 cm long, have a sweet taste, and contain large inedible seeds. Theophrastus gives a description of the persea tree which makes sense in most of its details , including that it is fruit bearing in Egypt but has only flowers in Rhodes , which has a Mediterranean climate. According to Theophrastus, the persea tree is abundant in Thebes . His statement that the persea, together with the sycamore fig , the acacia, the sugar date , and some others trees are peculiar to Egypt , is certainly not true. The impressive archaeobotanical record of persea is restricted to Egypt. The first records date back to the Third Dynasty and comprise seeds and leaves made into garlands, in particular. It is noticed by Hepper that the folded leaves indicate that the tree once grew in Egypt as such folding is only possible when the leathery leaves are still fresh. Whole fruits were found in Tutankhamen’s tomb . Until recently, some trees planted by Schweinfurth were still present in the garden of the Agricultural Museum in Cairo , and currently its presence in the garden of the Egyptian museum could be demonstrated by Germer . The persea fruits could have been obtained from the Nile Valley or from Adulis or Avalitês , Muza on the coast of Yemen, or the far-side ports along the Somalian coast.The bentree belongs to the Moringaceae, a plant family related to the legume family . This tree is found in Israel northward up to the Jordan Valley, in tropical northeast Africa, and in parts of the Arabian Peninsula . In Egypt, the bentree grows in upstream wadis of the Red Sea mountains and in the mountains of the Sinai. In these areas, the bentree is restricted to the foothills of mountains higher than 1,300 m, especially if they are located more inland. Although the xerophytic trees have a low water requirement, they are only assured of sufficient supply of atmospheric water if they grow in the vicinity of such high mountains. The trees are quite common between Hurghada and Quseir and are also recorded from the Gebel Nugrus, about 130 km northwest of Berenike. South of Berenike, they are recorded from the Gebel Elba . The tree produces pendulous fruits up to 30 cm long, which contain a row of triangular seeds. The benseeds are highly valued for their oil. Ben oil is sweet, transparent, and odorless. It is the roots that have the same odor of horseradish and are sometimes eaten as a substitute for this plant.