"GOING BANANAS" In Altadena, California, There is banana club and museum dedicated to Bananas with over 17,000 Banana-related artifacts!
The tallest cacti are the giant Saguaros. They grow up to 18m (59 ft) tall, about the height of a six-storey building.
Saving Life
PENICILLIUM [Fungus] These are found on decaying organic matter, including foods. It's the source for one of our most important antibiotics, penicillan. The molds belonging to the genus of fungi called Penicillium are spoil food, but save lives. Penicillin is made from various molds that grow on food. Penicillin kills a number of harmful bacteria, including those that cause staph infections and pneumonia. Penicillium fungi reproduce by releasing spores.
Victorian Water Lily
The leaves of Victorian water lily can be more than 2m (7ft) across, about the same area as a table tennis table. They are strong enough for a child to sit upon it without sinking.
Rafflesia
The world's biggest flower is Rafflesia flower, which grows up to a metre across. But it is not at all pretty. It smells like rotting meat. The foul smell attracts flies which pollinate the palnt.
Kiwi Fruit contains 600-1000 tiny edible seeds inside each fruit. It contains 2 x the amount of vitamin C that oranges have and can be stored up to 8 months.
Nyctitropism - The tendency of leaves or petals of certain plants to assume a different position at night.
How cold is it outside? Ask your Rhododendron. Rhododendron leaves begin to cup and curl when temps drop below 35 degrees. At 25 degrees, the curled leaves are so tight that half the leaf surface has disappeared and the leaves begin to droop. When temps drop into the teens, leaves shrivel even tighter, become brownish-green and dangle in the cold air. They curl their leaves to reduce moisture loss through their leaves.
Mushrooms are friut - it carries spores that blow away in the wind to grow into new plants. The rest of the plant is underground. Mushrooms are fungi and they have no flowers. It feeds on nutrients of rotting plants and animals.
New research has turned a long-held belief on its side. Seeds were always thought to have needed to come in contact with liquid water in order to germinate. It has now been discovered that the presence of water vapor, not necessarily liquid water, is required for germination.
In a few species even the leaves are reproductive. Kalanchoe Kalanchoe, nicknamed the 'maternity plant', or 'mother of thousands', is one example. Kalanchoe can be vegetatively propagated simply by placing a leaf in to a soil medium.
Apple seeds contain a small quantity of cyanide which renders the seeds quite bitter tasting.
Arizona's Bristle cone pine is younger if compared with some lichens. It is estimated that some lichens in the Antarctic may be 10,000 years old. If it is right then these lichens started growing during the Ice Age.
Cactus grow in hot, dry palces. They have no leaves at all. They have spikes on them to stop animals eating them and have thick stems which store water.
The tallest tree in the world is the Australian eucalyptus tree which grows up to 114 m (374 ft) high, higher than St. Paul's cathedral. If it were possible, you could lean over the balcony on the 38th floor of a rise block and touch the top leaves of the tree.