Domesticated plants are crops or ornamental plants . Plants domesticated primarily for aesthetic enjoyment in and around the home are usually called house plants or ornamentals , while those domesticated for large-scale food production are generally called crops . A distinction can be made between those domesticated plants that have been deliberately altered or selected for special desirable characteristics ( see cultigen ) and those domesticated plants that are essentially no different from their wild counterparts ( assuming domestication does not necessarily imply physical modification ) .