The World Is Full Of Strange Plants. This Article Shows Some Of the Strangest Plants I Know. From Roots To Flowers, See how Strange They Are.The World Is Full Of Strange Plants. This Article Shows Some Of the Strangest Plants I Know.
Just how weird do strange plants get? And what do I mean by weird? Some Strange Plants are strange because of their size, some their smell, some their fruit … well just about anything there is can be weird when it comes to plants. In fact, when it comes to weird many would argue that it’s weird that plants survive. They can’t run away from predators, they don’t have teeth but some are carnivorous and many can’t live without their fungal symbionts (It sounds like something out of science fiction doesn’t it?) Some plants have a life cycle that takes a few weeks from seed to flower producing seed before they restart the process over and over again. Others, such as the Bristlecone Pine, can live for 4,880 years, maybe longer.
So where to start?
Amazon water lily, Victoria amazonica
The national flower of Guyana is actually better known for its leaves which are up to 10ft (3m) in diameter. For years we thought it was the largest water lily in the world. BUT it’s not.
the largest water lily is actually Victoria boliviana, whose leaves are slightly bigger. It wasn’t discovered until a few years ago. And it had been sitting right in front of us for years.
It turns out that the giant water lily that been in Kew Gardens London for 177 years was misidentified and was actually a V. boliviana all the time. No, not the one in the pond, the one in the herbarium. The biggest one however is in La Rinconada Gardens in Bolivia
Peanuts, Arachis hypogaea
Peanuts are very strange.
They are a legume and we humans classify them as a grain legume and as an oil producing crop. But what makes them strange is that the plant exhibits geocarpy. In other words the peanut seed, which is produced in a pod, is produced underground. And what makes it extra strange is that the flowers are fertilised above ground, but soon after fertilisation burrow into the soil to form the shell with the peanuts inside.
Because it needs to burrow into the soil it does best on soft sandy soil where it’s easier to penetrate the soil.
To make it even more weird, the peanut isn’t technically nut. It’s a seed. We just call it a nut.
Harvesting peanuts is a complex affair. Firstly the plants are pulled out of the ground and inverted so the pods are able to dry out. Then they are threshed to remove the pods from the plants.
Once stored the peanuts are either sold in the pod or can be removed for sale as shelled peanuts. further processing can remove the husk from the nut if required.
Smelly flowers
The smelliest flower in the world is probably the Corpse Flower, Amorphophallus titanum. It hails from Sumatra and apparently flowers about once every ten years. It’s also the biggest flower in the world.
Smallest Flower in World
Wolffia, a type of duckweed, is the smallest flower in the world. The plant is about the size of a couple of grains of salt .. so imagine the size of the flower.
Smallest Fruit in the World
You’ve guessed it. It’s the Wolffia flower. The smallest flower has the smallest fruit.
Smallest Seed in the World
You might think this is the Wolffia. But it isnt.
Epiphytic orchids, from the tropical rainforests produce the smallest seed. It is dust like and is around 1/300th of an inch (85 micrometers) long, so invisible to the naked eye!
They spread on he breeze until the lodge in the upper canopy and eventually produce wonderful orchids.
What Is The Largest Plant?
You ar probably picturing a Giant Redwood or similar. But you’d be wrong.
Poseidon’s ribbon weed, Posidonia australis, is a seagrass found in Australian waters,. It clones itself and covers an area of around 70 square miles.
Strange Fruit
Jabuticaba is the edible fruit of the Jabuticabeira tree, (Plinia cauliflora) aka Brazilian grapetree. The stange thing about it is that, whereas fruit normally grow out on a plants branches, the large jabuticaba fruit grow directly on the tree trunk.
Our National Treasure
Let’s finish with words of wisdom from national treasure, David Attenborough talking about crazy plants.
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