The Foods
Found on Gor
There are many foods on Gor that are similar or the same to those found on Earth. Many of the foods originated from Earth. However, there are great differences as well, even amongst those products of Earth origin. Vegetables and fruits that also grown on Earth, are often mentioned in the books by John Norman, such as corn, maize, peas, carrots, pumpkins, squash, turnips, garlic, onions, radishes, nuts, melons, berries, peaches, and plums just to name a few. It is fairly safe to assume that most vegetables and fruits found on Earth, are on Gor as well, with some slight variations. Below you will find other foods of the Gorean world.
Apricot
Small, 
sweet orange fruit with a single pit that grows on trees. The apricot is also known for its curative effects. A favorite fruit of the Tahari region. There isn't much spoken of the apricot in the books written by John Norman.
"I brushed away two sellers of apricots and spices." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 45.
Beans
Legumes of many varieties.
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported.
At the oasis will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow; and beans, berries, onions, tuber suls, various sorts of melons, a foliated leaf vegetable, called Katch, and various root vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, radishes, of the sphere and cylinder varieties, and korts, a large, brownish-skinned, thick-skinned, sphere-shaped vegetable, usually some six inches in width, the interior of which is yellowish, fibrous and heavily seeded. At the oasis, because of the warm climate, the farmers can grow two or more crops a year." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
"I saw too, fields, fenced with rocks, in the sloping area. In them were growing, small at this season, shafts of Sa-Tarna; too, there would be peas, and beans, cabbages and onions, and patches of the golden sul, capable of surviving at this latitude." — Marauders of Gor, page 81.
"At the oasis, will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow; and beans…" — Tribesmen of Gor page 37.
Berries
Unspecified types. 
"…and small, dry berries gathered from the nearby shrubbery were our only sustenance." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 115.
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported. At the oasis will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow; and beans, berries, onions, tuber suls, various sorts of melons, a foliated leaf vegetable, called Katch, and various root vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, radishes, of the sphere and cylinder varieties, and korts, a large, brownish-skinned, thick-skinned, sphere-shaped vegetable, usually some six inches in width, the interior of which is yellowish, fibrous and heavily seeded. At the oasis, because of the warm climate, the farmers can grow two or more crops a year." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
"As I rest in my palace, in the cool of the rooms, on cushions relishing custards and berries…" — Tribesmen of Gor, page 124.
Cabbage
Round, green leaf vegetable. 
By quotes regarding the katch, which seems most comparative with the cabbage, perhaps John Norman forgot his Gorean and used the Earth vegetable.
"I saw too, fields, fenced with rocks, in the sloping area. In them were growing, small at this season, shafts of Sa-Tarna; too, there would be peas, and beans, cabbages and onions, and patches of the golden sul, capable of surviving at this latitude." — Marauders of Gor, page 81.
Carrot
A root vegetable; the staple of Bugs Bunny. 
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported.
At the oasis will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow; and beans, berries, onions, tuber suls, various sorts of melons, a foliated leaf vegetable, called Katch, and various root vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, radishes, of the sphere and cylinder varieties, and korts, a large, brownish-skinned, thick-skinned, sphere-shaped vegetable, usually some six inches in width, the interior of which is yellowish, fibrous and heavily seeded. At the oasis, because of the warm climate, the farmers can grow two or more crops a year." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
Celane Melons
This is one example of the rampant misinformation that plagues many Gorean sites. There is no such melon on Earth or on Gor. There are, however, unspecified varieties of melons mentioned in the books. For melons on Gor, please see: "Melons."
In my research, I did happen upon the term "celane." It's a Latin term that loosely means "mankind." Celane, is a euphorbic plant, which means, you definitely don't want to be eating it! I thought this interesting (and if you think about it, the nut does vaguely resemble a melon):
"Jatropha hedges were largely replaced in Senegal more than twenty years ago by two other euphorbias, known locally as celane and celane toubab. These were promoted by the agriculture extension service because they are very dense growing, and therefore make an even more effective barrier to wind and livestock than jatroha curcas. Farmers are familiar with jatropha and fondly remember its utilisation for village soapmaking and as a topical antiseptic. A few farners have begun the difficult task of replacing their celane, which has a caustic latex that burns the eyes, with jatropha hedges." — ATI Project in Senagal
Jatropha
(genus Jatropha), member of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), native in both New World and Old World tropics and containing about 125 species of milky-juiced herbs, shrubs, and trees, some useful for their oils or as ornamental plants in tropical gardens.
A garden curiosity is tartogo, or gouty jatropha (J. podagrica), from Guatemala and Honduras; it has a short trunk that is swollen at the base, erect red clusters of small flowers borne most of the year, and three- to five-lobed palmate (fanlike) leaves. The coral plant (J. multifida) from South America is outstanding for its huge, deeply cut, 11-lobed leaves on plants, 3 m (10 feet) tall, bearing small, coral-red clusters of flowers.
The peregrina (J. integerrima) from Cuba, about 5 m tall with spadelike leaves sharply lobed at the base, bears crimson flower clusters the year round. J. berlandieri, a perennial 30 cm (12 inches) tall distributed from Texas to Central America, is characterized by long-stalked, purple flowers.
The barbados nut (J. curcas), with yellow-green flowers and three- to five-lobed leaves on trees 6 m tall from Mexico and Central America, produces seeds from which cooking oil, soap, and a strong purgative are obtained. The seeds themselves are eaten if thoroughly roasted to remove the poison. The lac (a resinous substance) produced by a scale insect that feeds on the leaves is used to make a fine varnish for guitars.
The closely related genus Cnidosculos is distinguished from Jatropha by the absence of petals in the flowers, though the sepals form a corolla-like bloom.Euphorbia
Etymology: New Latin, alteration of Latin euphorbea, from Euphorbus, 1st cent. A.D. Greek physician
"Any of a large genus (Euphorbia of the family Euphorbiaceae) of plants that have a milky juice and flowers lacking a calyx and included in an involucre which surrounds a group of several staminate flowers and a central pistillate flower with 3-lobed pistils; broadly." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2006
Ready to munch some celane? Definitely, the one who created the concept of celane melons on Gor was not a friendly sort…
Cherries
Tiny delicious
sweet-tart, red fruit that grows on trees in the tiered orchards of Tyros. A delicacy on Gor.
"It reminds me of the cherries of Tyros," I said. — Beasts of Gor, page 349.
Chokecherries
Tiny delicious 
red fruit grown in the city of the chokeberry (black cherry) tree of the Barrens.
The chokecherry, native to Idaho, Montana, et al, once widely used as a food by Native Americans, has long been favored for jellies, syrups, sauces, jams and wine in the prairie states. The leaves, seeds and stems are poisonous, but the fruit, which ranges from crimson to red to yellow to white, depending on the cultivar, is tasty.
Etymology: so called from the bitter taste;
"1a: a common cherry (Prunus virginiana) of eastern No. America; b: a cherry (P. demissa) of the western United States; c: Black Cherry;
2: the astringent fruit of any chokecherry."
—Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2004-2006
"I lifted the crumbled pemmican to my mouth and ate of it. There are various ways in which pemmican can be prepared, depending primarily on what one adds into the mixture, in the way of herbs, seasonings and fruit. A common way of preparing it is as follows. Strips of kailiauk meat, thinly sliced and dried on poles in the sun, are pounded fine, almost to a powder. Crushed fruit, usually chokecherries, is then added to the meat. The whole, then, is mixed with, and fixed by, kailiauk fat, subsequently, usually, being divided into small, flattish, rounded cakes. The fruit sugars make this, in its way, a quick-energy food, while the meat, of course, supplies valuable, long-lasting stamina protein." — Blood Brothers of Gor, page 46.
Corn
Vegetable grown in agricultural
communities in the Barrens; known in the language of the red savages as "Wagmu."
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German & Old Norse korn grain, Gothic kaurn, Latin granum;
"The kernels of sweet corn or maize served as a vegetable while still soft and milky; a plant that produces corn, the stalks and ears after reaping, or the ears ready for threshing."
—Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2004-2006
"They grow produce for their masters, such as wagmeza and wagmu, maize, or corn, and such things as pumpkins and squash." — Savages of Gor, page 234.
Dates
The sweet fruit of the date palm, 
dates are the staple diet of the people of the Tahari. Dates are the principal export of the city of Tor; they are sold by the tef and tefa, and commercially sold in the form of pressed bricks.
"The principal export of the oases is dates and pressed-date bricks. Some of the date palms grow to more than a hundred feet high. It takes ten years before they begin to bear fruit. They will then yield fruit for more than a century. A given tree, annually, yields between one and five Gorean weights of fruit." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
"I am a humble merchant," I said. "I have a few small stones which I would like to sell at the Oasis of Nine Wells, to buy date bricks to return and sell in Tor." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 62.
"I obtained, too, a set of kaiila bells, and two sacks of pressed-date bricks. These are long, rectangular bricks, weighing about a stone apiece, or, in Earth weight, about four pounds." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 134-135.
"I counted eleven palm trees, date palms, cut down, their trunks fallen at an angle into the dust, the palm leaves dried and lifeless, the fruit unripened. It takes years for such a tree to grow to the point at which it will bear fruit." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 153.
"About Kutaituchik there were piled various goods, mostly vessels of precious metal and strings and piles of jewels; there was sills there from Tyros; silver from Thentis and Tharna; tapestries from the mills of Ar; wines from Cos; dates from the city of Tor." — Nomads of Gor, page 42.
"A veiled woman was hawking dates by the tefa." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 46.
"From outside I could smell date palms, pomegranates." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 115.
"I counted eleven palm trees, date palms, cut down, their trunks fallen at an angle into the dust, the palm leaves dried and lifeless, the fruit unripened. It takes years for such a tree to grow to the point at which it will bear fruit." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 153.
"I obtained, too, a set of kaiila bells, and two sacks of pressed-date bricks. These are long, rectangular bricks, weighing about a stone apiece, or, in Earth weight, about four pounds." — Tribesmen of Gor, pages 134-135.
Gorean Peach
See: "Peach."
Gorean Pear
See: "Pear."
Gorean Plum
See: "Plum."
Gourds
Long, yellow gourds are mentioned in this quote; can be used for storage of water as well as eating. 
"Any of several trailing or climbing plants related to the pumpkin, squash and cucumber and bearing fruits with a hard rind; the fruit of a gourd, often of unusual shape; the dried and hollowed-out shell of such a fruit, often used as a drinking utensil." — American Heritage College Dictionary, Third Edition ©2001
"Then she took a long draught of water from a yellow, curved gourd… she put the plug, carved from gourd stem, back in the gourd, and replaced it in the corner." — Raiders of Gor, page 34.
Grasses
In times of hunger, men of the seas often chew on these plants of the sea. Here are a couple of quotes, evidences of Norman's contradictions, of a Tuchuk eating something which touched the dirt. Although they are only gaining the moisture from the grasses, it is still partaking of something which touched the dirt.
"He picked up a stalk of a patch of violet grass, one of several hues used in such gardens, and began to chew on it." — Nomads of Gor, page 216-217.
"In the morning, before dawn, we awakened and fed on dried bosk meat, sucking the dew from the prairie grass." — Nomads of Gor, page 261.
Ka-la-na Fruit
The red-meated fruit of the yellow-barked Ka-La-Na tree; used for making wines. (Yes, I know. John Norman created a very strange tree biologically.)
"Over there," I said, "are some Ka-la-na trees. Wait here and I'll gather some fruit." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 96.
"I picked some Ka-la-na fruit…" — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 114-115.
Katch
A foliated leaf vegetable; probably similar to cabbage since it is used in stews.
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported. At the oasis will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow; and beans, berries, onions, tuber suls, various sorts of melons, a foliated leaf vegetable, called Katch, and various root vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, radishes, of the sphere and cylinder varieties, and korts, a large, brownish-skinned, thick-skinned, sphere-shaped vegetable, usually some six inches in width, the interior of which is yellowish, fibrous and heavily seeded. At the oasis, because of the warm climate, the farmers can grow two or more crops a year." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
Kes
A shrub whose salty blue secondary roots are a main ingredient in Sullage.
"The principal ingredients of Sullage are the golden Sul, the starchy, golden-brown vine-borne fruit of the golden-leaved Sul plant; the curled, red, ovate leaves of the Tur-Pah, a tree parasite, cultivated in host orchards of Tur trees; and the salty, blue secondary roots of the Kes Shrub, a small, deeply rooted plant which grows best in sandy soil." — Priest-Kings of Gor, pages 44-45.
Kort
A large, brown-skinned, thick-skinned sphere sphere-shaped vegetable, 
about 6 inches wide, yellow and fibrous inside, heavily seeded.
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported. At the oasis will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow; and beans, berries, onions, tuber suls, various sorts of melons, a foliated leaf vegetable, called Katch, and various root vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, radishes, of the sphere and cylinder varieties, and korts, a large, brownish-skinned, thick-skinned, sphere-shaped vegetable, usually some six inches in width, the interior of which is yellowish, fibrous and heavily seeded. At the oasis, because of the warm climate, the farmers can grow two or more crops a year." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
"I had had verr meat, cut in chunks and threaded on a metal rod, with slices of peppers and larma, and roasted; vulo stew with raisins, nuts, onions and honey; a Kort with melted cheese and nutmeg; hot Bazi tea, sugared, and, later, Turian wine." — Tribesmen of Gor, pages 47-48.
"I detected the odor of kort rinds, matted, drying, on the stones, where they had been scattered from my supper the evening before." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 115.
Larma, Hard
A firm, single-seeded apple-like fruit, also called the "pit fruit."
"I took a slice of hard larma from the tray. This is a firm, single-seeded applelike fruit. It is quite unlike the segmented, juicy larma. It is sometimes called, perhaps more aptly, the pit fruit, because of its large single stone." — Players of Gor, page 267.
Larma, Segmented
Segmented, sweet and juicy, the flesh red in color; a Gorean orange perhaps.
"He then picked up a juicy, red larma fruit, biting into it with a sound that seemed partly crunching as he went through the shell, partly squishing as he bit into the fleshy, segmented endocarp." — Nomads of Gor, page 220.
The Torian larma fruit is not fully described as either the hard larma or the segmented larma.
"And put bread over the fire," I said, "and honey, and the eggs of vulos, and fried tarsk meat and a Torian larma fruit." — Assassin of Gor, page 106.
Uses of the Larma
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported… Larma and tospits are also grown at the oases, in small orchards." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
"The slave boy, Fish, had emerged from the kitchen, holding over his head on a large silver platter a whole roasted tarsk, steaming and crisped, basted, shining under the torchlight, a larma in its mouth, garnished with suls and Tur-pah." — Raiders of Gor, page 219.
"I had had verr meat, cut in chunks and threaded on a metal rod, with slices of peppers and larma, and roasted…" — Tribesmen of Gor, page 47.
Offering a larma, real or imagined, by a slave girl to her Master is a silent plea for the girl to be raped.
"Another device, common in Port Kar, is for the girl to kneel before the master and put her head down and lift her arms, offering him fruit, usually a larma, or a yellow Gorean peach, ripe and fresh." — Tribesmen of Gor, pages 27-28.
Lichens
In times of hunger, men of the seas often chew on these mosslike plants which grow along rocks.
"There is often not enough food under any conditions, particularly I n northern Torvaldsland, and famine is not known. In such cases men feed on bark, and lichens and seaweed." Marauders of Gor, page 55.
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Maize
Indian corn; a vegetable grown in agricultural communities in the Barrens; known in the language of the red savages as "Wagmeza."
Etymology:Spanish maíz, from Taino mahiz, mays;
"Indian corn; or maize yellow: a variable color averaging a light yellow that is redder and duller than jasmine or chrome lemon and redder and very slightly darker than popcorn." —Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2004-2006
"They grow produce for their masters, such as wagmeza and wagmu, maize, or corn, and such things as pumpkins and squash." — Savages of Gor, page 234.
Melons
Some varieties are yellow and red-striped.
Please Note:
"Celane melons" are not found in the books by John Norman; they are an mIRC creation. Celane is an emetic bush found in South America; however, one would not want to eat this product (see "Celane"). I have actually seen someone use the following quote to demonstrate the evidence of "celane" melons. Perhaps "celane" translates to "various sorts" in her language?
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported. At the oasis will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow; and beans, berries, onions, tuber suls, various sorts of melons, a foliated leaf vegetable, called Katch, and various root vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, radishes, of the sphere and cylinder varieties, and korts, a large, brownish-skinned, thick-skinned, sphere-shaped vegetable, usually some six inches in width, the interior of which is yellowish, fibrous and heavily seeded. At the oasis, because of the warm climate, the farmers can grow two or more crops a year." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
"Buy melons! called a fellow next to her, lifting one of the yellowish red-striped spheres toward me." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 45.
Mushrooms
Tasty fungus, served stuffed, often with tarsk sausage. 
"I am an Alar," Hurtha explained. "Have a stuffed mushroom." — Mercenaries of Gor, page 81.
I was particularly fond of stuffed mushrooms… "What are they stuffed with?" I asked Hurtha.
"Sausage," he said.
"Tarsk?" I asked.
"Of course," he said. — Mercenaries of Gor, page 83.
Nuts
There are no descriptions on what tree or other
vegetation where they obtain these indescript nuts; used in vulo stew, as well as in other dishes.
"Merchants brought sides of bosk, and thighs of tarsk, and wines and fruits to camp, and cheeses and breads and nuts, and flowers and candies and silks and honeys." — Captive of Gor, page 321.
"I had had verr meat, cut in chunks and threaded on a metal rod, with slices of peppers and larma, and roasted; vulo stew with raisins, nuts, onions and honey; a Kort with melted cheese and nutmeg; hot Bazi tea, sugared, and, later, Turian wine." — Tribesmen of Gor, pages 47-48.
Olives
There are two varieties
mentioned in the books: those of Tor and the red-skinned of Tyros.
"The Tarn Keeper, who was called by those in the tavern Mip, bought the food, bosk steak and yellow bread, peas and Torian olives, and two golden-brown, starchy Suls, broken open and filled with melted bosk cheese." — Assassin of Gor, page 167.
"Clitus, too, had brought two bottles of Ka-la-na wine, a string of eels, cheese of the verr and a sack of red olives from the groves of Tyros." — Raiders of Gor page 114.
Onion
Presumably the same tear-jerkers 
as Earth onions.
"… vulo stew with raisins, nuts, onions and honey…" — Tribesmen of Gor, page 47.
"…who tumbled onions, turnips, radishes, potatoes and bread into the feed trough." — Outlaw of Gor, page 155.
"I have peas and turnips, garlic and onions in my hut." — Outlaw of Gor, page 29.
"He thrust an onion and a crust of bread into my hands." — Outlaw of Gor, page 148.
"I and the others, from our pans, were eating one of our four daily rations of bread, onions and peas." — Raiders of Gor, page 184.
"Their food is that of a galley slave, peas, black bread and onions. If they serve well, however, their customers often bring them a bit of meat or fruit." — Hunters of Gor, page 304.
"I saw too, fields, fenced with rocks, in the sloping area. In them were growing, small at this season, shafts of Sa-Tarna; too, there would be peas, and beans, cabbages and onions, and patches of the golden sul, capable of surviving at this latitude." — Marauders of Gor, page 81.
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported. At the oasis will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow; and beans, berries, onions, tuber suls, various sorts of melons, a foliated leaf vegetable, called Katch, and various root vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, radishes, of the sphere and cylinder varieties, and korts, a large, brownish-skinned, thick-skinned, sphere-shaped vegetable, usually some six inches in width, the interior of which is yellowish, fibrous and heavily seeded. At the oasis, because of the warm climate, the farmers can grow two or more crops a year. Larma and tospits are also grown at the oases, in small orchards. Some rep is grown, for cloth, but most cloth comes to the oases from caravans." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
Peach, Gorean
A yellow, fleshy fruit grown on trees; a different fruit than the larma, but offering the peach, as with the larma, is indicative of begging for slave rape.
"Another device, common in Port Kar, is for the girl to kneel before the master and put her head down and lift her arms, offering him fruit, usually larma, or a yellow Gorean peach, ripe and fresh." — Tribesmen of Gor, pages 27-28.
Pear, Gorean
A sweet yellow fruit grown on trees. 
A variation of eating the fruit, is to embed it with verr cheese. There was argument that the Gorean pear mentioned is the same as the ka-la-na fruit, however, it is a completely different fruit.
"In her hand there was a half of a yellow Gorean pear, the remains of a half moon of verr cheese imbedded in it." — Explorers of Gor, page 62.
Peas
Often specifically called "Gorean peas" by Tarl Cabot, 
there was nothing mentioned giving specifics as to how they may differ from Earth peas.
"The Tarn Keeper… brought the food, bosk steak and yellow bread, peas and Torian olives, and two golden-brown, starchy Suls, broken open and filled with melted bosk cheese." — Assassin of Gor, page 168.
"After a bit of cold bosk, some water and a handful of peas, I had come the House of Cernus." — Assassin of Gor, page 40.
"I and the others, from our pans, were eating one of our four daily rations of bread, onions and peas." — Raiders of Gor, page 184.
"… a galley slave… The great merchant galleys of Port Kar, and Cos, and Tyros, and other maritime powers, utilized thousands of such miserable wretches, fed on brews of peas and black bread, chained in the rowing holds, under the whips of slave masters, their lives measured by feedings and beatings, and the labor of the oar." — Hunters of Gor, page 13.
"Their food is that of a galley slave, peas, black bread and onions. If they serve well, however, their customers often bring them a bit of meat or fruit." — Hunters of Gor, page 304.
"I have peas and turnips, garlic and onions in my hut." — Outlaw of Gor, page 29.
"I saw too, fields, fenced with rocks, in the sloping area. In them were growing, small at this season, shafts of Sa-Tarna; too, there would be peas, and beans, cabbages and onions, and patches of the golden sul, capable of surviving at this latitude." — Marauders of Gor, page 81.
Peppers
Peppers of varying types; some hot to
very hot.
"Telima had prepared a roast tarsk, stuffed with suls and peppers from Tor." — Raiders of Gor, page 114.
"In the cafes I had feasted well. I had had verr meat, cut in chunks and threaded on a metal rod, with slices of peppers and larma, and roasted …" — Tribesmen of Gor, page 47.
"Some of the peppers and spices, relished even by children in the Tharai districts, were sufficient to convince an average good fellow of Thentis or Ar that the roof of his mouth and his tongue were being torn out of his head." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 46.
Pomegranate
Hard shelled, red, fleshy, segmented fruits. The juice is used in making liqueurs and meat marinades (grenadine).
Etymology: Middle English poumgrenet, from Middle French pomme grenate, literally,
seedy apple; Date: 14th century;
"1: a thick-skinned several-celled reddish berry that is about the size of an orange and has many seeds with pulpy crimson arils of tart flavor;
2: a widely cultivated tropical Old World tree (Punica granatum of the family Punicaceae) bearing pomegranates." —Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2004-2006Pomegranate:The fruit of (Punica granatum,( a bush or small tree of Asia, which with a little-known species from the island of Socotra constitutes the family Punicaceae. The plant, which may attain 5 or 7 metres (16 or 23 feet) in height,has elliptic to lance-shaped, bright-green leaves about 75 millimetres (3 inches) long and handsome axillary orange-red flowers borne toward the ends of the branchlets. The calyx is tubular and persistent and has five to seven lobes; the petals are lance-shaped, inserted between the calyx lobes. The ovary is embedded in the calyx tube and contains several compartments in two series, one above the other.
The fruit is the size of a large orange, obscurely six-sided, with a smooth, leathery skin that ranges from brownish yellow to red; within, it is divided into several chambers containing many thin, transparent vesicles of reddish, juicy pulp, each surrounding an angular, elongated seed. The fruit is eaten fresh, and the juice is the source of (grenadine syrup,( used in flavourings and liqueurs.
Throughout the Orient, the pomegranate has since earliest times occupied a position of importance alongside the grape and the fig. According to the Bible, King Solomon possessed an orchard of pomegranates, and, when the children of Israel, wandering in the wilderness, sighed for the abandoned comforts of Egypt, the cooling pomegranates were remembered longingly. Centuries later, the prophet Muhammad remarked, "Eat the pomegranate, for it purges the system of envy and hatred." While the pomegranate is considered indigenous to Iran and neighbouring countries, its cultivation long ago encircled the Mediterranean and extended through the Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan, and India. It is commonly cultivated in the Americas from the warmer parts of the United States to Chile. Though the pomegranate grows in a wide range of climates, good fruit is produced only where high temperatures and dry atmosphere accompany the ripening period." —Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2004-2006
"From outside I could smell date palms, pomegranates." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 115.
"Pomegranate orchards lie at the east of the oasis." I said. — Tribesmen of Gor, page 174.
Plum, Gorean
A small, delicious purple fruit grown on trees.
John Norman doesn't expand on this fruit mentioned but rarely.
"From the garment, to the sand about her ankles, there fell several small Gorean plums…" — Hunters of Gor, page 92.
"I had nearly stepped into a basket of plums." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 45.
Potato
A root vegetable of that is suspiciously like the Sul. 
Did John Norman forget he created the Sul? Or was he confirming that the potato is, in fact, the sul of Gor?
"…who tumbled onions, turnips, radishes, potatoes and bread into the feed trough." — Outlaw of Gor, page 155.
Pumpkin
A spherical gourd which is commonly grown in agricultural communities in the Barrens. 
Etymology:alteration (influenced by -kin) of pumpion, pompion, modification of Middle French popon, pompon pumpkin, melon, from Latin pepon-, pepo, from Greek pepon an edible gourd, from pepon cooked by sun, ripe, from peptein, pessein to cook, ripen, digest;
"Any of various usually firm-rinded fruits of vines of the genus Cucurbita that are widely cultivated as a vegetable, for pies, and for livestock feed; any of numerous usually large rounded and deep yellow to orange fruits produced by plants that are horticultural varieties of the natural species (C. pepo)." —Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2004-2006
"They grow produce for their masters, such as wagmeza and wagmu, maize, or corn, and such things as pumpkins and squash." — Savages of Gor, page 234.
Radish
Small root vegetable with a pungent taste. 
"…who tumbled onions, turnips, radishes, potatoes and bread into the feed trough." — Outlaw of Gor, page 155.
"Ottar dug for the Forkbeard and myself two radishes and we, wiping the dirt from them, ate them." — Marauders of Gor, page 102.
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported. At the oasis will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow; and beans, berries, onions, tuber suls, various sorts of melons, a foliated leaf vegetable, called Katch, and various root vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, radishes, of the sphere and cylinder varieties, and korts, a large, brownish-skinned, thick-skinned, sphere-shaped vegetable, usually some six inches in width, the interior of which is yellowish, fibrous and heavily seeded. At the oasis, because of the warm climate, the farmers can grow two or more crops a year." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
Raisins
Sun-dried grapes that make great additions to stews. 
"I had had verr meat, cut in chunks and threaded on a metal rod, with slices of peppers and larma, and roasted; vulo stew with raisins, nuts, onions and honey; a Kort with melted cheese and nutmeg; hot Bazi tea, sugared, and, later, Turian wine." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 47-48.
Ram-berry
Not really a berry, these are a somewhat small, reddish fruit, similar to a plum except that it has many seeds, native to Gor.
"A guard was with us, and we were charged with filling our leather buckets with ram-berries, a small reddish fruit with edible seeds, not unlike plums save for the many seeds." — Captive of Gor, page 305.
Red-Fruit
A non-existent fruit! This is another example of something that is placed on websites by those without access to the books, and cut-and-paste from other websites, from quotes and such, not understanding or fully knowing what is being placed on the pages. "Red fruit" was not once utilized in the books for any reason. Perhaps the misnomer "red-fruit" came to being in reference to red-fleshed fruits found on Gor.
Rence [Pith]
Found in the marshes along the Vosk, the pith of the rence plant is ground and mashed and used to make a variety of things, such as cakes and porridges. See: "Rence Cake and Porridge" in the Grains section.
"I had also been used to carry heavy kettles of rence beer from the various islands to the place of feasting, as well as strings of water gourds, poles of fish, plucked gants, slaughtered tarsks, and baskets of the pith of rence." — Raiders of Gor, pages 40-41.
Rence Paste
Made from the pith of the rence plant, the paste can be eaten alone or fried to form a sort of cake. See: "Rence Cake and Porridge" in the Grains section.
"A woman left the group to bring some rence paste, and two men removed the marsh vine from my neck and ankles. My wrists were still bound behind my back. In a moment the woman had returned with a double handful of wet rence paste. When fried, on flat stones it makes a kind of cake, sprinkled with rence seeds." — Raiders of Gor, page 25.
"She laughed and reached into the wallet at her side and drew forth two handsful of rence paste and thrust them in my mouth. She herself nibbled on a rence cake, watching me, and then on some dried fish which she drew also from the wallet." — Raiders of Gor, page 34.
Seaweed
In times of hunger, men of the seas often chew on these plants of the sea. Some seaweeds are poisonous to man.
"There is often not enough food under any conditions, particularly in northern Torvaldsland, and famine is not known. In such cases men feed on bark, and lichens and seaweed." — Marauders of Gor, page 55.
"Many fish in these tropical waters are poisonous to eat, a function of certain forms of seaweed on which they feed. The seaweed is harmless to the fish but it contains substances toxic to humans." — Explorers of Gor, page 109.
Squash
A gourd vegetable which is commonly grown in agricultural communities in the Barrens. 
Etymology:by shortening & alteration from earlier is quoutersquash, from Natick & Narragansett askútasquash, literally, green thing eaten green;
"Any of various fruits of plants of the genus Cucurbita that are widely cultivated as a vegetable and for livestock feed: such as a summer squash, winter squash, pumpkin; or squash vine: a plant that bears squashes." —Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2004-2006
"They grow produce for their masters, such as wagmeza and wagmu, maize, or corn, and such things as pumpkins and squash." — Savages of Gor, page 234.
Suls
Starchy, golden brown, vine borne vegetable; principal ingredient in Sullage, a tuberous vegetable, possibly similar to the sweet potato. Or perhaps this is the potato that Norman speaks of later? See "Potato."
"The principal ingredients of Sullage are the golden Sul, the starchy, golden-brown vine-borne fruit of the golden-leaved Sul plant; the curled, red, ovate leaves of the Tur-Pah, a tree parasite, cultivated in host orchards of Tur trees; and the salty, blue secondary roots of the Kes Shrub, a small, deeply rooted plant which grows best in sandy soil." — Priest-Kings of Gor, pages 44-45.
"…the food, bosk steak and yellow bread, peas and Torian olives, and two golden-brown, starchy Suls, broken open and filled with melted bosk cheese." — Assassin of Gor , page 168.
"The Sul is a large, thick-skinned, yellow-fleshed, root vegetable. It is very common on this world. There are a thousand ways in which it is prepared. It is fed even to slaves. I had had some at the house; narrow, cooked slices, smeared with butter, sprinkled with salt, fed to me by hand." — Dancer of Gor, page 80.
"Telima had prepared a roast tarsk, stuffed with suls and peppers from Tor." — Raiders of Gor, page 114.
"The slave boy, Fish, had emerged from the kitchen, holding over his head on a large silver platter a whole roasted tarsk, steaming and crisped, basted, shining under the torchlight, a larma in its mouth, garnished with suls and Tur-pah." — Raiders of Gor, page 219.
"The Sul is a tuberous root of the Sul plant; it is a Gorean staple." — Slave Girl of Gor, page 134.
"I cut at the soil with the hoe, chopping and loosening the dirt about the roots of the sul plant." — Slave Girl of Gor, page 190.
"Soup!" I called, raising my hand. I purchased from him, for a copper tarsk, a bowl of soup, thick with shreds of hot bosk and porous chunks of boiled sul." — Beasts of Gor, page 51.
"I saw too, fields, fenced with rocks, in the sloping area. In them were growing, small at this season, shafts of Sa-Tarna; too, there would be peas, and beans, cabbages and onions, and patches of the golden sul, capable of surviving at this latitude." — Marauders of Gor, page 81.
"On the way back to the hall, cutting through the tospit trees, we had passed by the sul patch." — Marauders of Gor, page 103.
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported. At the oasis will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow; and beans, berries, onions, tuber suls, various sorts of melons, a foliated leaf vegetable, called Katch, and various root vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, radishes, of the sphere and cylinder varieties, and korts, a large, brownish-skinned, thick-skinned, sphere-shaped vegetable, usually some six inches in width, the interior of which is yellowish, fibrous and heavily seeded. At the oasis, because of the warm climate, the farmers can grow two or more crops a year." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
Ta Grapes
These grapes hail from the isle of Cos and resemble grapes of Earth. 
They are used in making Ta wine, but are also a favored fruit to eat.
"The meal was completed by a handful of grapes and a draught of water from the wall tap. The grapes were purple and, I suppose, Ta grapes from the lower vineyards of the terraced island of Cos some four hundred pasangs from Port Kar… If they were indeed Ta grapes I supposed they must have come by galley from Cos to Port Kar, and from Port Kar to the Fair of En'Kara. Port Kar and Cos are hereditary enemies, but such traditions would not be likely to preclude some profitable smuggling." — Priest-Kings of Gor, page 45.
"… or the vineyards where the Ta grapes are raised…" — Nomads of Gor, page 35.
"Cos is also a lofty island, even loftier than Tyros, but she has level fields to her west. Cos had many terraces, on which the Ta grapes are grown." — Raiders of Gor, page 139.
"One girl held back our head, and others, from goblets, gave us of wines, Turian wine, sweet and thick, Ta wine, from the famed Ta grapes, from the terraces of Cos, wines even, Ka-la-nas, sweets and drys, from distant Ar." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 213.
"He was veiled, in the manner of the Char, as were the others with him. He picked a grape from a bowl of fruit on a small table near him, and, holding the veil from his face, as do the men of the Char, put the bit of fruit into his mouth, and bit into it. It was pitted. He chewed on the fruit." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 211.
Tospit
A bitter, juicy named for the bush/tree it grows on (sometimes referred to in the books as the tospit bush and at other times in the books as the tospit tree). There are two varieties of this fruit: the rare, long-stemmed variety, which grow on the tospit bush, indigenous to the dry valleys of the western Cartius, and the common tospit, which grows in trees and are often grown commercially in orchards. Small, about the size of a plum, and peach-like in texture, yellow-white in color, it is often dried and candied, as well as dipped in honey to take some of the bite of their sourness. Because it has such high concentrations of Vitamin C, the tospit is always found on ships, and often called the seaman's larma.
"… drew a tospit out of his pouch, that yellowish-white bitter fruit, looking something like a peach but about the size of a plum. The common tospit almost invariably has an odd number of seeds. On the other hand the rare, long-stemmed tospit usually has an even number of seeds. Both fruits are indistinguishable outwardly… I finished the fruit and, of course, it had seven seeds." — Nomads of Gor, page 149.
"… I raced past a wooden wand fixed in the earth, on the top of which was placed a dried tospit, a small, wrinkled, yellowish-white peachlike fruit, about the size of a plum, which grows on the tospit bush, patches of which are indigenous to the drier valleys of the western Cartius. They are bitter but edible." — Nomads of Gor, page 59.
"The slice of tospit was thrust in my mouth… I bit into the tospit. It was bitter, but juicy." — Slave Girl of Gor, page 321.
"The tospits, in the Forkbeard's orchard, which can grow at this latitude, as the larma cannot, were too green to eat. I smiled, ecalling that tospits almost invariably have an odd number of seeds, saving the rarer, long-stemmed variety. I do not care too much for tospits, as they are quite bitter. Some men like them. They are commonly used, sliced and sweetened with honey, and in syrups, and to flavor, with their juices, a variety of dishes. They are also excellent in the prevention of nutritional deficiencies at sea, in long voyages, containing, I expect, a great deal of vitamin C. They are sometimes called the seaman's larma. They are a fairly hardfleshed fruit, and are not difficult to dry and store. On the serpents they are carried in small barrels, usually kept, with vegetables, under the overturned keel of the longboat." — Marauders of Gor, page 102.
"On the way back to the hall, cutting through the tospit trees, we had passed by the sul patch." — Marauders of Gor, page 103.
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported… Larma and tospits are also grown at the oases, in small orchards." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
"A boy passed, spitting out the seeds of a tospit. On the Plains of Turia, or in the Land of the Wagon People, it was available only late in the summer. Here, in Tor, however, with its two growing seasons, they might be available much earlier… I was mildly surprised that the boy had been eating the tospit raw, for they are quite bitter, but I knew, that people of the Tahari regions, these bright, hot regions, relished strong taste and smells." — Tribesmen of Gor, pages 45-46.
Tree Bark
In times of hunger, men of the north often chew on bark.
"There is often not enough food under any conditions, particularly in northern Torvaldsland, and famine is not known. In such cases men feed on bark, and lichens and seaweed." — Marauders of Gor, page 55.
Turnips
A sharp-tasting root vegetable; good for stews. 
"…who tumbled onions, turnips, radishes, potatoes and bread into the feed trough. — Outlaw of Gor, page 155.
"I have peas and turnips, garlic and onions in my hut." — Outlaw of Gor, page 29.
"A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported. At the oasis will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow; and beans, berries, onions, tuber suls, various sorts of melons, a foliated leaf vegetable, called Katch, and various root vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, radishes, of the sphere and cylinder varieties, and korts, a large, brownish-skinned, thick-skinned, sphere-shaped vegetable, usually some six inches in width, the interior of which is yellowish, fibrous and heavily seeded. At the oasis, because of the warm climate, the farmers can grow two or more crops a year." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 37.
Tur-Pah
An edible tree parasite with curly, red, ovate leaves; cultivated in host orchards of the Tur tree; a main ingredient in Sullage, and also used for stuffing tarsks and other meats. Would not be found in a Tuchuk Camp, as, for one, the plains of Turia are treeless. The Tur tree grows in the northern forests.
"The principal ingredients of Sullage are the golden Sul, the starchy, golden-brown vine-borne fruit of the golden-leaved Sul plant; the curled, red, ovate leaves of the Tur-Pah, a tree parasite, cultivated in host orchards of Tur trees; and the salty, blue secondary roots of the Kes Shrub, a small, deeply rooted plant which grows best in sandy soil." — Priest-Kings of Gor, pages 44-45.
"… there was one large-bunked, reddish Tur tree, about which curled its assemblage of Tur-Pah, a vinelike tree parasite with curled, scarlet, ovate leaves, rather lovely to look upon; the leaves of the Tur-Pah incidentally are edible and figure in certain Gorean dishes, such as sullage, a kind of soup…" — Nomads of Gor, page 217.
"The slave boy, Fish, had emerged from the kitchen, holding over his head on a large silver platter a whole roasted tarsk, steaming and crisped, basted, shining under the torchlight, a larma in its mouth, garnished with suls and Tur-pah." — Raiders of Gor, page 219.
Wagmeza
Red Savage term meaning "Maize." See "Maize."
"They grow produce for their masters, such as wagmeza and wagmu, maize, or corn, and such things as pumpkins and squash." — Savages of Gor, page 234.
Wagmu
Vegetable grown in agricultural communities in the Barrens. Red Savage term meaning "Corn." See: "Corn."
"They grow produce for their masters, such as wagmeza and wagmu, maize, or corn, and such things as pumpkins and squash." — Savages of Gor, page 234.
Special Note
Because of the differences in publishing the books, depending upon whether published in the U.S. or Europe, depending upon whether a first publishing or a Masquerade Books release, page numbers will often vary. All of my quotes are from original, first-printing U.S. publications (see The Books page for a listing of publishers and dates) with the exception of the following books:
- Tarnsman of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
- Outlaw of Gor (11th Printing, Balantine)
- Priest-Kings of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
- Assassin of Gor (10th Printing, Balantine)
- Raiders of Gor (15th Printing, Balantine)
- Captive of Gor (3rd Printing, Balantine)
Disclaimer
These pages are not written for any specific home, but rather as informational pages for those not able to get ahold of the books and read them yourself. Opinions and commentaries are strictly my own personal views, therefore, if you don't like what you are reading — then don't. The information in these pages is realistic to what is found within the books. Many sites have added information, assuming the existences of certain products and practices, such as willowbark and agrimony for healing, and travel to earth and back for the collection of goods. I've explored the books, the flora, the fauna, and the beasts, and have compiled from those mentioned, the probabilities of certain practices, and what vegetation mentioned in the books is suitable for healing purposes, as well as given practicalities to other sorts of roleplaying assumptions.