Benne (Sesame)

Sesamum indicum Seeds per packet ~ 125 Germination: 95%  Jul 2024, Packed for 2025 Origins and History Benne, also known as sesame (Sesamum indicum), is one of the world’s oldest oilseed crops, with domestication traced back over 3,000 years to Africa and India.  Believed to have originated in India, and domesticated in Africa since at least the time of the Pharaohs. Even today, the east African nation of Sudan produces the largest crop of sesame seeds. It traveled across trade routes into the Middle East and Asia, where it became an integral part of food and culture. In the Americas, benne was brought through the transatlantic slave trade, particularly to the Carolinas, where African-descended people cultivated it and preserved traditional uses. Today, heirloom benne is celebrated as a culturally meaningful seed, especially in African American foodways and Southern heritage cuisine. The term "benne," comes from the Gullah-Geechee people (descendants of formerly enslaved people who dev