Interesting facts about plants. The most interesting fact about the plant. Interesting facts about plants The most interesting plants in the world

Pine trees sterilize the air

The smallest flower in the world

Xerophyta - drought plant

Our planet never ceases to amaze with the diversity of plant and animal species that exist on it, sometimes possessing amazing abilities.

A selection of the most interesting facts about plants:

1. An amazing plant called Ceratonia of the legume family, which has long been cultivated in the Mediterranean, has a curious property - the size of its fruits is always the same (0.2 g), for which they were very valued by jewelers in the old days, but now this measure is called a carat. The scientific name of the genus, by the way, comes from the Greek κεράτιον ( сerátiοn), κέρας ( seras) "Horn".

2. Among straight-trunked trees, Australian eucalyptus trees boast the highest height, reaching a height of 150 meters and sometimes more. A telegraph pole made from the wood of this tree can withstand strong winds, and the root system of the eucalyptus sucks water from the soil with such force that people use these natural pumps to drain swamps.

3. The record holder plant is also titanium arum, the flower of which is the largest and reaches a height of 2.27 meters. Due to the unbearable smell emitted by the plant, titan arum was nicknamed the “corpse flower”: its “aroma” resembles the smell of rotten meat. However, for pollinators - flies and beetles - this smell and bright color are very attractive. Under natural conditions, the flower grows in the jungle about. Sumatra. Titan arum blooms once every 20–40 years and blooms for only two days. Only about 150 cases of its flowering have been officially recorded worldwide. A few years ago, visitors to the British botanical garden We became happy witnesses of the flowering of this unique plant.

4. Another famous one big flower- Rafflesia Arnolda (Sumatra island, Kalimantan, Philippines, etc.). Rafflesia Arnolda blooms with single flowers, their diameter is 60-100 cm, and their weight is up to 8 kg. The flower publishes bad smell, reminiscent of the smell of rotting meat, which attracts the main pollinators - flies.

5. In the Amazon basin you can find a plant of the water lily family called Victoria. Its leaves on the surface of the water reach three meters in diameter and can support a weight of up to 30 kg.

6. One of the most interesting facts about plants is that the leaves on their trunks and branches are not arranged randomly, but in a certain sequence, having a certain angle of deviation relative to each other. The size of this angle varies depending on the plant itself. So, for an apricot it is 2/5, for a pear - 3/8, for almonds - 5/13, etc. This arrangement of leaves in accordance with the size of the tree, leaves and growing environment provides them with optimal nutrition, access to light and full growth.

In India there is a plant locally called “fool the stomach”. After eating 1-2 leaves of the kalir-kanda plant, a person feels full for a whole week, although the leaves do not contain valuable nutrients. The ability of the plant to create the illusion of satiety is used in the manufacture of tablets and infusions from the leaves, which are successfully used by people suffering from excess weight.

One of the unusual plants comes from the savannas of the South American country of Paraguay. This is a STEVIA shrub, the leaves of which contain a substance reminiscent of saccharin. It is more than 300 times sweeter than sugar. This plant is already successfully cultivated in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Laos, Spain and light hand Academician N.I. Vavilov in Russia. There are significant cultural plantations in the Belgorod region. Belgorod residents sweeten with an extract made from stevia. confectionery for diabetics.

SUGAR GRASS. Grows in Central America, mainly in Mexico. From its leaves and flowers they isolated a sweet oily liquid, which is 1000 times sweeter than sugar. What is especially valuable is that, unlike natural sugar, this substance is completely
harmless to diabetics and not conducive to obesity.

Grows in the African savannah herbaceous plant TOUMATOCUS DANNELIUS. The special substance talin, which is found in its red berries, is 2000 times sweeter than sugar.

An even sweeter plant is the LIANA DIOSCOREPHYLLUM CUMMINISIIA, growing in tropical forests Nigeria and other countries West Africa. Sugar, in comparison with its coral-red berries, due to the content of the substance monellin, seems devoid of taste. Of course, monellin is 3000 times sweeter than sugar!

And the champion among super-sweet plants is the KETEMF shrub, which grows in the tropical forests of West Africa. The world's sweetest substance, toumatin, is obtained from it. It is sweeter than sugar (hard to imagine) 100,000 times! This substance will be sweet even if toumatin is dissolved in a concentration of 10 g per ton of water!

Scientists believe that growing super-sweet plants could revolutionize the world's sugar industry.

The shrub SYNSEPALUM DULCIFIKUM grows in the tropical forests of West Africa.

Its red berries, due to the content of miraculin, have amazing property- influence a person’s sense of taste. If you chew a few of these small berries before eating, miracles will begin to happen to the taste: sour lemon will seem sweeter than orange, and sugar will seem bitter. This effect lasts for about an hour, and sometimes more, depending on the amount of fruit eaten.

Local people from Ghana to Zaire, where this plant grows, use its fruit to sweeten sour palm wine.

It is interesting that plants with similar effects are found in Transcaucasia, southern Tajikistan and China. This tree is from the buckthorn family - jujube, also known as unabi or Chinese date. Compotes, jams, pastilles are prepared from them, and stored in dried form.

In 1784, dahlia tubers, unprecedented before, were brought from Mexico to Spain. Spanish king ordered to jealously guard the secret of the existence of an overseas flower, until in 1805 the German naturalist Alexander Humboldt brought from South America tubers of a Mexican plant “unknown” in Europe for 20 years!

Pine trees sterilize the air

One hectare pine forest per day it is capable of releasing about 5 kg of volatile phytocides into the atmosphere, destroying numerous microorganisms from the air. Therefore, in forests with growing young coniferous trees, regardless of geographic latitude and proximity settlements, in comparison with other green areas, the air is practically sterile, containing only about 200 - 300 bacteria per 1 cubic meter.

In terms of vitamin C content, walnuts are 8 times higher than black currants and 50 times higher than citrus fruits. The B vitamins they contain help break down pyruvic acid, which accumulates in muscles and causes fatigue. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus argued that the priests of Ancient Babylon prohibited ordinary people There is walnuts, because it was believed that they had a beneficial effect on mental activity, but common people had no use for this.

The smallest flower in the world

Do you know which plant has the most small flower in the world? At the duckweed! For a long time it was believed that it was an algae, but then they discovered flowers on duckweed. But it is still unknown how the number of these plants in a reservoir doubles in a day - within a few days, duckweed covers the entire surface of the reservoir.

Xerophyta - drought plant

Xerophyta viscosa was named by Antoine Laurent de Jussier (1748-1836) Xerophyta - meaning "drought plant". This rare herbaceous perennial lives on rocky soils Natal province in South Africa, on the peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains, has thread-like curved leaves 60 cm long, and flowers with a diameter of 5-6 cm appear on the plant from November to April. This plant is often called by someone else's name, Vellozia viscosa, but Vellozia is a completely different species. Xerophyta is able to live without water in extreme temperature conditions Very for a long time. Researchers at the University of Cape Town are using xerophyte genes to code for the drought-tolerant weeds sanguinalis Digitaria and Thaliana Arbidopsis, and will eventually use xerophyte genes to cultivated plants to increase their resistance to stress.

The largest root system is found in plants of arid regions, deserts and semi-deserts.

Their roots penetrate deep into the ground to reach nearby underground water sources, or extend far wide to take advantage of the little rainfall that falls in the desert.

Let's look at a few examples of the length of the roots of desert plants.

Central Asian shrub mimosa -7 m;

Alfalfa sowing - over 15 m;

Camel thorn - more than 20 m.

Which plant holds the record for the largest root? It turns out that this is an apple tree growing in the porous soils of Nebraska in America. Its roots penetrated to a depth of 1068 m! And if you take the entire root and add all its own small roots to it (you get the total length of the root), then its length will be calculated not in meters, but in kilometers. For example, for a 4-month-old winter rye plant it is 619 km. One of the Finnish botanists in 1954 calculated the total length of the roots of a hundred-year-old pine tree - about 50 km.

DID YOU KNOW?..

That carrots, beets, radishes are also roots, only roots that have changed their appearance, because spare parts were deposited in them nutrients. What caused the roots to grow so wide? Otherwise, these roots are called root vegetables. By the way, root vegetables are the heaviest roots. In November 1978, the newspaper Nedelya reported, for example, about a giant fodder beet, grown by a Tajik farmer. Its weight is more than 20 kg!

TRUNK

The largest plants are trees of the genus Eucalyptus, found in Australia. They can reach 130 m in height with a trunk thickness of 10 m (compare: the height of a 10-story building is 30 m).

In size, eucalyptus trees are slightly inferior to mammoth trees - sequoias. The maximum height of these giants of the American continent is judged by measurements made in the last century on a fallen trunk unique tree V national park sequoia (USA). This tree, called the “father of forests,” measured 120 m from base to top. Botanists now believe maximum height living specimens of evergreen sequoia are 110 m 33 cm. It was with this accuracy that a specimen was measured in Humboldt Sequoia Park in California. It was discovered in 1964 and received given name"Howard Libby."

WITH land plants brown algae successfully argues for size. Her maximum length Some authors estimate it at 300 m, others more modestly - only 70 m. It is possible that such algae, wriggling in the water depths, were mistaken by past sailors for a giant sea serpent, often mentioned in sea legends. The largest trunk in the world is found in the European chestnut tree. This tree grows on Mount Etna in Sicily, according to measurements in 1845 it had a girth of 64 m (about 20.4 m in diameter).

SHEET

In Southeast Asia, palm trees from the genus Corypha grow on the island of Sri Lanka. The blades of the fan-shaped leaves of Corypha reach 8 m in length and 6 m in width. One such sheet can cover half of a volleyball court. They are used to make beautiful and durable umbrellas and painted fans. Corypha is also famous for its inflorescences - they are the largest in the world - 14 m long and 12 m wide.

Even more large leaves near the Brazilian palm tree Raffia Tedigera. On a petiole 4-5 m long, a giant “feather” sways, more than 20 m long and almost 12 m wide. If you place such a leaf vertically on the ground, it will rise higher than a 6-story building. A strong fiber is extracted from the raffia petiole, which is used to make brushes and hats.

DID YOU KNOW?..

That the spines of a cactus are its leaves? Victoria Amazonskaya, a relative of our white water lily (water lily), also became famous for its large leaves. It is because of the unusual

leaves and this aquatic plant is grown in many botanical gardens different countries. The Victoria leaf will withstand not only small child, but also a schoolchild. He will feel on it just like in real boat. And some leaves do not go under water with a load of about 50 kg. Moreover, the Victoria sheet does not sink, even when its entire surface is covered with an even layer of sand up to 80 kg. This is how much a tall adult man weighs! The round leaves of Victoria are usually no more than 2 m in diameter, but they are still giants!

Victoria's flowers are also famous. When its buds bloom, it is reported on local radio. It is in the evening that its snow-white flower opens. It is very large, up to 40 cm and smells nice. By morning its petals turn pink and close. The closed flower falls into the water. By the next evening it opens a second time. Now its petals are already painted in lilac-pink tones. During the second night it gradually darkens, and by morning it closes again and goes under water again. Now forever! Few people manage to see such a short-lived Victoria flower!

Velvichia amazing, growing in the deserts of Africa, has only two leaves in its entire life. Its leaves reach a length of 2-3 m. A giant specimen is described with leaves 6 m 20 cm long and 1 m 80 cm wide! Velvichia is famous and interesting for its stump-like stem. The stem can reach 1 m, and according to other sources - 4 m in diameter. This stem gradually grows in thickness over tens and even hundreds of years.

FLOWER

Another giant is Amorphophallus titanica, growing in tropical rain forests. He reached an extraordinary height - 2 m 42 cm! Because of the disgusting smell, workers caring for him wore gas masks and changed their clothes after work.

And now about the smallest flowers. IN central Europe naked hernia is found. This plant is only 5-15 cm high, and the flower is only 1 mm! But the smallest flowers of duckweed and rootless wolffia (an aquatic plant) are less than 0.5 mm. Despite their microscopic size, duckweed and wolffia cover areas of reservoirs with a continuous green carpet.

FRUIT

Large fruit from the Seychelles palm. Even in ancient times, residents of the western coast of India found unusual nuts brought by the wind (waves), as if sharply pulled in two. They were called Maldivian nuts and for a long time they were even believed to be the fruits of underwater palm trees that grow on the bottom of the sea. And in 1743, the Seychelles Islands were discovered, and on them were palm trees that produced these mysterious nuts. Their size is amazing: diameter 45 cm, weight up to 25 kg.

Our planet never ceases to amaze with the diversity of plant and animal species that exist on it, sometimes possessing amazing abilities.

A selection of the most interesting facts about plants:

1. An amazing plant called Ceratonia of the legume family, which has long been cultivated in the Mediterranean, has a curious property - the size of its fruits is always the same (0.2 g), for which they were very valued by jewelers in the old days, but now this measure is called a carat. The scientific name of the genus, by the way, comes from the Greek κεράτιον ( сerátiοn), κέρας ( seras) "Horn".

2. Among straight-trunked trees, Australian eucalyptus trees boast the highest height, reaching a height of 150 meters and sometimes more. A telegraph pole made from the wood of this tree can withstand strong winds, and the root system of the eucalyptus sucks water from the soil with such force that people use these natural pumps to drain swamps.

3. The record holder plant is also titanium arum, the flower of which is the largest and reaches a height of 2.27 meters. Due to the unbearable smell emitted by the plant, titan arum was nicknamed the “corpse flower”: its “aroma” resembles the smell of rotten meat. However, for pollinators - flies and beetles - this smell and bright color are very attractive. Under natural conditions, the flower grows in the jungle about. Sumatra. Titan arum blooms once every 20–40 years and blooms for only two days. Only about 150 cases of its flowering have been officially recorded worldwide. A few years ago, visitors to the British Botanic Garden were happy witnesses to the flowering of this peculiar plant.

4. Another famous large flower is Rafflesia Arnolda (Sumatra island, Kalimantan, Philippines, etc.). Rafflesia Arnolda blooms with single flowers, their diameter is 60-100 cm, and their weight is up to 8 kg. The flower emits an unpleasant odor, reminiscent of rotting meat, which attracts the main pollinators - flies.

5. In the Amazon basin you can find a plant of the water lily family called Victoria. Its leaves on the surface of the water reach three meters in diameter and can support a weight of up to 30 kg.

6. One of the most interesting facts about plants is that the leaves on their trunks and branches are not arranged randomly, but in a certain sequence, having a certain angle of deviation relative to each other. The size of this angle varies depending on the plant itself. So, for an apricot it is 2/5, for a pear - 3/8, for almonds - 5/13, etc. This arrangement of leaves in accordance with the size of the tree, leaves and growing environment provides them with optimal nutrition, access to light and full growth.

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Being inquisitive, man has always been interested in various records in the plant world. It is important for him to know which flower and which plant is the largest, which is poisonous, and which is the most unusual.

The biggest flower

Among the flowers there are record holders for growth. The largest of the single flowers is Rafflesia Arnoldi. It is capable of growing more than ninety centimeters. Its weight is about eleven kilograms. Rafflesia is native to the tropical forests of Sumatra, Indonesia, Borneo, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The longest sushi plant is the rattan palm. Its length varies from three hundred to three hundred and fifty meters.

In America, in Sequoia Park, a huge sequoia grows, bearing the name “General Sherman”. The height of the tree is more than eighty-three meters with a trunk diameter of thirty-one meters. Victoria amazonica is another huge tropical herbaceous plant of the order Pitcher lilies. The leaves of this giant water lily reach two meters in diameter.

The most poisonous plants

Not all plants are harmless. Some of them are poisonous and can harm human health. For example, poison ivy, poison oak and lacquer wood emit a volatile toxin that can cause severe allergies.

Dictamnus or Yasenets are plants that are dangerous to humans. Contained therein essential oils can cause long-healing chemical burns. Photochemical burns can be caused by a plant such as hogweed. If its juice gets on human skin, nothing will happen, but it’s worth getting to this place sunlight, as the skin will be affected by a chemical burn.

The berries and rhizomes of Crow's Eye are very poisonous. The plant contains a substance that causes convulsions, vomiting, sometimes leading to paralysis of the respiratory systems. Poisoning with plants such as dope and henbane can result in convulsions, coma and paralysis of the respiratory tract.

The hemlock plant is one of the most poisonous plants in the world. Its aroma is similar to carrots, and its taste is reminiscent of radish. One hundred grams of its rhizome can kill a cow. It contains cicutoxin, which leads to respiratory arrest and convulsions. This is not the entire list most poisonous plants planets.

Unusual grass

They call them unusual medicinal herbs. One such herb is tarragon. Its second name is “queen of herbs”. It is a very useful crop, used as medicine, as a spice and as a ornamental plant. Another unusual herb is wormwood, which is also widely used in medicine. It is impossible not to mention St. John's wort, Eleutherococcus senticosus, lemon balm, oregano, sage, etc.

Unusual herbs in appearance are highland species of variegated living carpets. They grow to form turf. The most popular carpet plant is the alpine gooseberry. Another very unusual grass growing in a carpet was discovered on the coast of Lake Chany. It is unusual not only because of its red color, but also because it somewhat resembles worms in appearance.

Amazing house plants

Pseudolitos looks especially extreme among houseplants. It will surprise anyone with its appearance. Its homeland is Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The translation of the name is “false stone.” The plant looks like a thick, egg-shaped, tuberous trunk without leaves. The color and shape resemble stone. Pseudolitos blooms in groups of bright flowers.

An amazing indoor plant that grows without soil is Tillandsia. To grow it indoors, you need to get a saw cut or bark coniferous tree, on which auxiliary roots will be fixed.

One of the most interesting indoor plants- Lithops. With its shape, the plant resembles a hoof no more than seven centimeters high. Interestingly, most of this plant is underground. Every spring it blooms with large, bright flowers.

Bonsai looks original. Its second name is “Tree in a Pot.” Essentially Bonsai - bonsai, grown at home. This is just a small list of amazing house plants.

The most unusual plant in the world

It is difficult to decide which plant is the most unusual, since there are too many on the planet amazing representatives vegetation. It is quite possible that the most unusual plant is Velvichia amazing. It can survive without water for about five years, relying on moisture from the atmosphere.

Velvichia lives from four hundred to two thousand years. Externally, the plant looks like two huge leaves, from two to eight meters long. These leaves continue to grow throughout life, gradually tearing longitudinally into ribbons, while the tips dry out. The plant grows in those areas of Namibia where air humidity is high due to frequent fogs.
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Growing in the rain forests of Sumatra and Borneo, Rafflesia has flowers of the most big size, among single flowers.

A rafflesia flower can reach one meter in diameter and weigh up to 10 kilograms.

In addition, the flowers have a disgusting smell of rotten meat to attract insects for pollination.

This is very rare plant and it is quite difficult to find. The plant develops over several months, but blooms only for a few days.

This plant also does not have a good smell. It also grows in Indonesia and is nicknamed “corpse flower” for its unpleasant smell of rotten meat. The Titan Arum flower can reach 3 meters in diameter and 2-3 meters in height. The weight of a flower can be up to 65 kilograms.

Unlike its smelly cousin Rafflesia, Titan arum is not a single flower, but consists of many inflorescences.

Hydnora africana is native to South Africa.

This terrible thing actually grows underground, only the flower, which looks like pieces of meat, rises above the surface.

This flower would easily outperform plants whose smell is reminiscent of dead flesh. It smells like feces, and for good reason. It attracts dung beetles, the plant's natural pollinators. The flower captures insects for a short time and then releases them, opening completely.

This is not just a classic swamp lily. It can reach a diameter of 3 meters on a stem 8 meters long.

The leaf of this plant can support a weight of 100 kilograms.

Its discovery in 1801 caused a lot of noise in Europe. It owes its name to Queen Victoria.

The flowers of this plant are almost the size of soccer ball, white in the morning, in the evening they turn pink. The plant has an interesting defense mechanism, it is all covered with sharp needles, only the roots, flower and upper surface do not have needles.

This plant is also grown in other parts of the world, including England and the USA (Florida).

Welwitschia mirabilis was discovered by the Austrian scientist Friedrich Welwisch during research in Africa. According to Friedrich, it was the most amazing plant of all that he had encountered in his life. It grows along the coast Namib Desert. This plant has a very long lifespan. It manages to live up to 2 thousand years with virtually no water (2-3 cm per year).

After germination, two main leaves grow, which elongate over life. Their length can reach 4 meters. Typically, these leaves eventually fall apart into strip-like sections, so it may appear that there are actually more leaves.

This plant is very rare, mainly due to the collectors who hunt for them. You can find them in Angola and Namibia. In Angola, the chance of finding it is slightly higher, due to the huge number of mines scattered across the fields.

Lithops are succulents accustomed to the dry, hot climate of South Africa.

IN Ancient Greece“litos” meant “stone”, and “ops” meant similar. Hence the name “stone-like.” They are also called “living stones”.

A distinctive feature of lithops is the color of their leaves. They are never green. they are brown, gray, cream with dark spots and red streaks.

This coloring serves as a camouflage for the plant. Lithops bloom well and can be grown at home. For this it is only necessary: ​​“enough light, good ventilation and enough persistence to keep yourself from watering them.”

There are more than 150 species of amorphophallus, the largest and most spectacular of them is called giant. In order to admire the huge amorphophallus, numerous spectators even agree to endure its terrible smell. Amorphophallus is gigantic, taller than a human. Even in the first flowering cycle, a gramophone on a spotted stalk grows up to one and a half meters, and with each subsequent time the underground tuber gains more more power, and the flower gets higher and higher. The record holder is the giant amorphophallus, which bloomed in 2005 in Germany. Its height was 294 centimeters. Flowering occurs as if suddenly - a peduncle appears from the ground and a flower blooms. No shoots or leaves; amorphophallus will release its only leaf later. When they bloom, a strange action occurs, accompanied by that same unbearable stench. Because of its smell, it is called corpse flower, and this smell resembles either rotten meat or spoiled fish. But it’s not for nothing that amorphophallus acquired such an aroma; dung beetles flock to it to help pollination. During pollination, the flower not only smells, but also heats up, up to about 40 degrees.

This plant is one of the smallest flowering plants on Earth. It grows in water.

It has no roots and looks like a grain. floating on the surface of the water.

The 38 species of this plant are widely distributed on Earth and typically grow in temperate tropical regions.

This plant is edible. It contains a large amount of protein, almost like soy. In Asia, it is traditionally eaten as a vegetable.

The size of a single plant is less than one millimeter.

Definitely one of the most romantic plants! Grows in Central Asia, Europe and Asia Minor.

In fact we're talking about not about one flower, but a group of several tiny flowers gathered together. Edelweiss is very well protected from the cold and can grow not only on rocks, but also in valleys.

New Zealand nettle tree

The most dangerous stinging plant is the New Zealand nettle tree. It can kill dogs and even horses by injecting a mixture of strong poisons under their skin. The fine, stinging hairs on the leaves contain histamine and formic acid.

The largest carnivorous plant, capable of digesting the largest prey, belongs to the Nepentaceae family. Frogs, birds and even rats are caught in its traps and digested using enzymes. Grows in tropical forests of Asia, on. Borneo and Indonesia.

The largest cactus in the world, the saguaro, grows in Mexico and Arizona. It easily reaches a height of 15 meters and weighs from 6 to 10 tons. The saguaro flower has 3,500 stamens, which are so large that small birds sometimes build nests there.

It takes a long time for a cactus to grow so huge: saguaros grow extremely slowly. In the first 30 years they grow no more than a meter. This is followed by a period of relatively rapid growth, when the cactus gains about a millimeter every day. Only at the age of 75 does the cactus acquire its exotic appearance of a huge trunk with garlands of lateral shoots. Cacti live up to 150 years, which, of course, is a lot for succulents.

I couldn’t resist posting this plant; anyone who likes tequila will agree with me.

The wild variety of agave grows in western Mexico in a dry tropical climate at an altitude of more than 1,500 meters above sea level, preferring red soils with a high sand content.

Jalisco, one of Mexico's northwestern states, continues to celebrate UNESCO's recent decision to designate blue agave plantations concentrated in the central regions of the state as a Heritage of Humanity.

The new status of blue agave in the city of Tequila, which gave its name to the famous alcoholic drink obtained from this plant, is especially exciting. Here, in the vicinity of the city, are located most of the plantations founded by the Indians in pre-Columbian times.

Indeed, the flower of the clitoris is very similar to the female genital organs, but despite this, the battle for the name “clitoris” continued throughout the first half of XIX century. The famous English botanist James Edward Smith was the first to cry out in 1807, but supporters of the name clitoris did not give up.

The last attempt to rename the clitoria took place in 1840 and it also failed. So the clitoria remained a clitoris...

By the way, this plant is very useful. Not only do the Thais dye their rice a cheerful blue color with clitoris extract, it has various applications in medicine.

Breadfruit, common in Oceania, accumulates starch in its pulp as it ripens, and if such a fruit is baked, it will taste like bread. The weight of such a loaf can reach 12 kilograms and, by the way, these fruits have been replacing bread for local residents for centuries.

When people talk about the strength of wood, many people immediately think of “iron wood,” yew, or boxwood.

But the most durable tree grows in the Primorsky Territory; the largest population is in the Kedrovaya Pad nature reserve. The species is rare, protected, listed in the Red Book. It also grows in China (Jilin, Liaoning), Japan (Honshu) and the north of the Korean Peninsula.

The Schmidt birch grows slowly in the first years of its life. Lives up to 300-350 years.

This is wood with unique properties - if you make a ship’s hull from iron birch, you don’t have to paint it: it is not in danger of corrosion. Wood is not destroyed even by acids. The bending properties are not inferior to wrought iron and are 3.5 times stronger than cast iron. A bullet can't penetrate it. You can't cut down a tree with an ax; it simply doesn't leave a mark on the trunk.

Frost-resistant Norwegian spruces

An ancient spruce was discovered high in the mountains of western Sweden.

Thanks to radiocarbon dating carried out in a laboratory in Florida (USA), the stele is known to be 8 thousand years old. Two more huge spruce trees grow near the tree. Scientists believe that they are between 4.8 thousand and 5.5 thousand years old.

But there, in Sweden, an even more amazing discovery was discovered.

Don’t let the tree’s slenderness and short height deceive you; it was born immediately after the end of the Pleistocene ice age(photo by Leif Kullman). He is... 9550 years old!!!

The previous oldest trees - pines in North America - dated back 4-5 thousand years.