Interesting facts about wild plants for children. The most unusual plants in the world. The world's largest flower
You will not believe! Two leaves satisfy hunger.
In India, a plant grows under the local name "trick 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 property 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 overweight people.
What can be sweeter than sugar?
The leaves of the Paraguayan stevia shrub are more than 300 times sweeter than sugar, while the leaves of the Mexican sugar grass are 1,000 times sweeter. The red berries of the plant "Toumatokus dannelii" from the African savannah are 2,000 times sweeter than sugar, and the red berries of "Dioscorephyllum cumminisia" from the forests of Nigeria and other West African countries are 3,000 times sweeter. AT West Africa the sweetest plant also grows - the bush "ketemf", containing the substance toumatin, which is 100,000 times sweeter than sugar!
Fight for survival
Three year old scientific work biologists of the University of Turin showed that some of the plants - lima beans, corn and others, can "realize" the threat to life. Capturing the saliva of the caterpillar that enters the body of the plant, it begins to secrete volatile matter, similar to the scent of lavender, to attract wasps. Wasps protect plants in this way: they sting caterpillars and lay their eggs in their body, which leads to the death of caterpillars.
Unknown dahlia
In 1784, dahlia tubers, never seen before, were brought from Mexico to Spain. The Spanish king ordered to zealously 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!
Pines sterilize the air
One hectare of pine forest per day 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 geographical latitude and intimacy settlements, in comparison with other green areas, the air is practically sterile, containing only about 200 - 300 bacteria per 1 cubic meter.
Not for every mind
In terms of vitamin C content, walnuts are 8 times higher than black currants and 50 times higher than citrus fruits. The B vitamins contained in them contribute to the decomposition of pyruvic acid, which accumulates in the muscles and causes fatigue. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus claimed that the priests of Ancient Babylon forbade ordinary people there is walnuts, because it was believed that they have a beneficial effect on mental activity, and this is useless to commoners.
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 this was an algae, but then flowers were found in duckweed. But it is still unknown how the number of these plants in the reservoir doubles per day - in a few days duckweed covers the entire surface of the reservoir.
Xerophyta - drought plant
The hairy xerophyta Xerophyta viscosa was named Xerophyta by Antoine Laurent de Jussier (1748-1836), which means "drought plant". This rare herbaceous perennial lives on the stony soils of the Natal province in South Africa, on the peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains, has filamentous curved leaves 60 cm long, and flowers 5-6 cm in diameter appear on the plant from November to April. Often this plant is referred to by the alien name of Vellozia viscosa, but Vellozia is a completely different species. Xerophyta is able to live without water in extreme conditions. temperature conditions very long time. University of Cape Town researchers are using xerophyte genes to code for drought tolerant weeds sanguinalis Digitaria and Thaliana Arbidopsis, and will subsequently use xerophyte genes to cultivated plants to increase their resilience.
Chilean nightshade can kill instantly
A plant of the nightshade family of the genus Vestia, consisting of only one species - vestia fruitful Vestia foetida lives only on the coast of the islands of Chile and New Zealand. This evergreen shrub reaches a height of 1.5 meters, and from April to June, the branches of the message are covered with pale yellow tubular flowers 3-4 centimeters long, similar to fuchsia flowers. If the message sheet is rubbed, it publishes bad smell. The genus was named after a professor from Graz, L.C. De West (1776-1840). 20 grams of seeds of this plant costs about 120 euros. In goats that accidentally ate fetal news in the pasture, this nightshade causes liver necrosis with a fatal outcome.
Our planet never ceases to amaze with the diversity of plant and animal species that exist on it, sometimes with amazing abilities.
Selection of the most interesting facts about plants:
1. 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 much appreciated 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 ( сeratiοn), κέρας ( ceras) "Horn".
2. Among straight trees greatest height Australian eucalyptus trees can boast, the height of which reaches 150 meters, and sometimes more. A telegraph pole made from the wood of this tree is able to withstand the strongest wind, and root system eucalyptus sucks water out of the soil with such force that people use these natural pumps to drain swamps.
3. The record plant is also titanium arum, the flower of which is the largest and reaches a height of 2.27 meters. For the unbearable smell exuded by the plant, titanium arum was nicknamed " corpse flower': its 'aroma' is reminiscent of 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 every 20-40 years and blooms for only two days. Around the world, only about 150 cases of its flowering have been officially recorded. A few years ago, visitors to the British Botanical Gardens became happy witnesses of the flowering of this peculiar plant.
4. Another famous big flower- Rafflesia Arnold (Sumatra, Kalimantan, Philippines, etc.). Rafflesia Arnold blooms with single flowers, their diameter is 60-100 cm, and their weight is up to 8 kg. The flower emits an unpleasant 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 withstand 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.
Welwitschia (Welwitschia mirabilis). Without a doubt, Velvichia can be called one of the strangest plants on our planet. The thing is that on the surface this plant is represented by only two leaves. At the same time, IT lives from 400 to one and a half thousand years. Two leaves of velvichia grow and grow until the whole mass looks like something incomprehensible. The length of each sheet is approximately 2-4 meters (sometimes up to eight meters).
Welwitschia grows in Namibia, and the main source of moisture for it is fog - and only where there are fogs is Welwitschia found. By the way, without rain, she can live up to five years, only due to atmospheric moisture. It is said that the shoots (sporangia) of velvichia are quite tasty when baked in a fire.
In general, velvichia is a very strange plant that is unlike any other.
2. Venus flytrap
This plant has long been the main character of various cartoons about insects. The fact is that this is an insectivorous plant that obtains food with the help of special traps. As soon as a fly or other insect sits on an attractively smelling and shiny trap, it slams shut in less than a second (!). Where else are these plants?
3. Rafflesia arnoldi
This plant consists of a single part - a flower. Without any doubt, rafflesia is the largest flower in the world, which sometimes reaches 2 meters in diameter. But you won’t be able to admire this flower - not only is it not very beautiful, it also emits an unpleasant smell of rotting meat.
What for? Of course, to attract more flies and other carrion lovers. The fly flies in, falls out in the pollen, and flies home until it meets another such flower. This is how cross-pollination occurs. Spread rafflesia, oddly enough, elephants. Rafflesia bears fruit in large balls of seeds, and elephants, passing by, crush these balls, spreading rafflesia on their feet. As a result, this flower spreads along the elephant trails.
4. Desmodium gyrans: everyone dances!
Desmodium gyrans was described by Darwin. Modern botanists call it either Desmodium gyrans or, more correctly, Codariocalyx Motorius. This plant surprises everyone with the movement of its leaves - the plant seems to be dancing, especially if there is a lot of sun.
5. Euphorbia obesa: baseball plant
This plant is native to South Africa and has become famous for its original form. Euphorbia obesa is very similar to a ball (not necessarily a baseball, of course). This plant is also known for its rarity - the fact is that Euphorbia obesa is endemic, that is, it grows strictly in a certain region, not found anywhere else.
Now many private collectors - florists, as well as botanical gardens, have begun to cultivate this species, so that the threat of extinction is at least partially eliminated.
6. Amorphophallus titanum: corpse flower
giant plant, whose flowers are the second largest in the world (after rafflesia). The smell of this plant is simply disgusting - it is usually compared with the smell of rotten eggs, spoiled fish or meat. It is clear that this is not just so, but to attract insects that are attracted to corpses, but in this case, insects serve as pollinators.
Surprisingly, the plant lives up to 40 years, and blooms only a couple of times. So we can assume that you are lucky if you see Amorphophallus giant blooming.
7. Baobab
Well, we all know about this tree, but still, let's admire it again. In total, there are about eight species of baobabs, and they are found in Madagascar (yes, remember this cartoon? There were baobabs), Africa and Australia. mature tree able to store up to 300 liters of water, they live up to 500 years, which is a lot for a tree.
8. dragon tree
This plant is found in the Socotra archipelago (territory of Yemen). It looks rather strange, and the sap of the tree is red, which leads to such a name for the species. Medieval scientists, who first discovered the dragon tree, considered it a half-animal half-plant, and red juice - real blood. This juice has long been used as medicinal product from many diseases (probably used now).
9. Mimosa púdica: the shy plant
Mimosa púdica is a very sensitive plant. The fact is that if you touch a mimosa, or if it is caught in a gust of wind, the mimosa immediately “pretends” to be dead, all the leaves fall to the ground, and the plant seems to have withered. Within a few minutes, the mimosa comes to its senses in order to "wither" again as soon as someone or something touches it. Found in South and Central America.
The fruits of Puteria sweetish, which is also called Miraculous Berries, a tree of the Sapotov family, act on taste buds, due to which the perception of sour taste is turned off for one to two hours. If you eat a lemon after eating the magic fruit, it will retain its flavor but appear sweet. According to research, the cause of this effect is the miraculin protein contained in the fruit.
It turns out that on planet Earth there is an amazing mushroom that tastes like chicken. The gray-yellow tinder fungus grows in clusters, and the width of its hat reaches 40 cm. In some parts of Germany and North America, it is considered a delicacy
Each seed of the ceratonia plant always weighs exactly 0.2 g. Due to this, in ancient times, ceratonia seeds were used as weights. This measure was soon called a carat.
In the Italian region of Piedmont, there is a unique double tree called Bialbero de Casorzo. Once upon a time, a cherry pit managed to sprout at the top mulberry tree, and then the cherry got its roots to the ground through the hollow trunk of its lower neighbor
Wintering horsetail growing in middle lane Russia, has extreme rigidity. Silica accumulates in the walls of its outer cells and its green stalk can scratch the steel surface.
In Japan, they have grown onions "Smile Ball" (Smiling ball), which does not cause tears. This is an onion that does not contain gases that irritate the eyes, and has a completely different taste and aroma. These onions can be eaten raw like fruit and taste like an apple or pear. Tearing-free sweet onions are priced at 450 yen ($4.3) for a pack of two onions
The oldest tree in Europe - Bosnian pine Adonis in northern Greece, her age is 1075 years. It was recently discovered by an international team of scientists in the Pindus mountains near the Albanian border. The age was determined by counting annual rings on a sample. This pine tree witnessed the rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire, and then saw the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire. When the tree was a thin green sprout, in Russia, for example, Prince Igor Rurikovich, the father of Prince Svyatoslav, ruled.
The scientific name of the forget-me-not is Myosotis, which means "mouse's ear" in ancient Greek.
The world's oldest "potted" plant is Encephalarthos Altenstein at the Royal botanical gardens Q. His age is 241 years. He was brought from South Africa and planted in England in 1775
To obtain “rubber shoes”, South American Indians simply dipped their feet in the fresh juice of Hevea, a plant from which rubber is obtained today.
Swiss scientists have found that pomegranate can slow down muscle aging and increase life expectancy. The pomegranate contains a large number of chemicals called ellagitannins. Our gut bacteria convert these chemical substances into a compound called urolithin A, which helps mitochondria - the cells' "batteries" - keep themselves active.
Bulbous Begonia variety Kimcheniriya blooms every year on the birthday of Kim Jong Il - February 16
The promised land in the Holy Scriptures is often called the haunted place (literally, the land of wheat) or Paradise.
The plant Spooner arctic, or Arctic horseradish is very rich in vitamin C. It is found on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, on sandy places and slopes in the Arctic and Kamchatka. In ancient times, it was taken on ships in a salty form in barrels, as the best remedy to prevent scurvy. In the Scandinavian countries, and now the spoon is used in fresh like a salad, it is also prepared for the winter (salted). It tastes somewhat like horseradish.
Britain's oldest tree, the Fortingall Yew, estimated to be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old, has begun to change sex. unique tree, berry yew, grows in the courtyard of the church of the village of Fortingal in Scottish Perthshire. Legends say that Pontius Pilate spent his childhood in the shade of this tree. Sex reassignment was discovered in 2015 by Scottish scientists. Previously, the tree produced pollen, which made it possible to classify it as a male plant, but now the tree bears fruit. The “harvest” is still small: only three berries, but this also indicates that the yew has begun a sex change. However, in the plant world this is not a rare event. At yews and a number of others coniferous trees part of the crown can change sex, and the tree continues to grow, being both male and female in its various parts.
Ecologists estimate that out of the three trillion trees on earth, a fifth (640 billion) grows in Russia.
However, despite the impressive overall figure, in the long term the Earth may lose its forest cover completely. Every year, about 15 billion trees disappear due to logging alone, and fires should be added to this. The number of trees that people plant per year does not exceed 5 billion. And for the entire time of the existence of human civilization, the Earth has lost half of its forest cover.
Bananas of the Cavendish variety, the main variety in the world, are on the verge of extinction due to pathogenic fungi. Experts predict the complete destruction of the banana industry within 5-10 years if a means of destroying pathogenic fungi is not found. The University of California has begun work to save bananas and has discovered that it is possible to suppress the spread of infection through changes in DNA. Already identified genes in bananas, suppressing which, it is possible to prevent infection without the use of fungicides. Scientists hope that they will have time to complete their work before irreparable damage is done to the global banana industry.
Guerrilla gardening - gardening of objects and territories by people who do not have ownership rights to them.
AT Ancient Greece figs were considered more valuable than gold, attempts to take them out of the country were considered smuggling and were equated with high treason
Scientists have found that the sunflower uses the uneven growth of st:) in order to turn after the sun (heliotropism). At night, the western one lengthens more, and during the day it grows more intensively east side st :). When growth stops, the flower remains eastward. This orientation allows the sunflower to warm up faster in the morning and attract more pollinators.
No one can imagine their existence without flora and fauna, but not everyone knows how plants feel in reality. Facts about the most unusual plants in the world will allow you to understand many real things. Plants were created not only to decorate our society, but also to protect the people themselves. Facts from the life of plants will touch flowers, shrubs, and herbs.
1. The most cold-resistant plants are poplar and birch shoots. They can be cooled down to -196 degrees.
2. The noisiest tree is the cannon tree and it grows only in Guinea.
3.About 10 thousand poisonous plants is in our world.
4. On Earth there is unique look mushroom. He's on palatability may resemble a chicken.
5. Only Ceratonia gives approximately the same seeds weighing 0.2 grams.
6.Most fast growing plant is the baobab. During the day, it can increase by 0.75 - 0.9 meters in height.
7. For those who are interested in plant life, it is worth saying that algae are considered the most ancient plant.
8. The nettle New Zealand tree is called the most dangerous stinging plant, because it can even kill a horse.
9. A tree grows in Brazil, the sap of which is used as diesel fuel.
10. The oldest tree is a pine from the United States of America.
11. The tree of life grows in Bahrain.
12. Approximately 375 thousand species of plants exist today in the world space.
13. The largest orchid flora considered the tiger orchid.
14. There are also white dandelions, not just yellow ones, as we are used to seeing them.
15. The German oak has its own postal address.
16. Of the 300 thousand varieties of plants, only 90 thousand are edible.
17. About 90% of plant foods come from plants.
18. Much earlier than people appeared on Earth wild roses. The oldest of them appeared 50 million years ago.
19. Most expensive flower for the price is the golden orchid.
20. Largest water lily is on Amazon.
21. One of the most interesting facts about leaves is that in India there is a plant called "deceive the stomach." Eating just a couple of leaves of this plant, you stay full for a whole week.
22. A hectare of pine forest can release about 5 kilograms of phytoncides into the atmosphere, which destroy microbes with incredible success.
23. Duckweed is the smallest plant in the world.
24. Plants and animals are amazing and this is proven by the fact that even echinacea produces honey.
25. Once upon a time, rice grains were used as a lie detector.
26. Peanut is not a nut. These are beans.
27. The smell of the nastiest plant in the world is similar to rotten fish. This smell is produced by the amorphophallus plant.
28. Bamboo grows in China with the name leaf-growth. This plant increases by 40 centimeters per day.
29. During the day, sunflowers are not able to turn towards the sun.
30. Plants are given the ability to be albinos.
31. Land plants produce only half of the oxygen.
32. Many plants are capable of producing chemicals that are harmful and poisonous to the life of herbivores.
33. In 1954, it was possible to find the seeds of the Arctic lupine, which had been frozen for about 10,000 years.
34. Human life depends on 1500 varieties of cultivated plants.
35. Ficus from South Africa has the longest roots 120 meters long.
36. The most nutritious fruit of the plant world is the avocado.
37. The first plant that could bloom and produce seeds in the absence of gravity in space was Arabidopsis.
38. Rubber is also obtained from a plant. Its name is Hevea.
39. The arrangement of leaves on a plant has a strict order.
40. The most smelly plant Black Sea coast is the spotted aronnik.
41. There are plants in the world whose seeds unwind and twist.
42. There is a plant whose berries are 2000 times sweeter than sugar.
43. Mexico was named after the agave plant.
44. There are edible cacti in the world, which have a pleasant taste and tender flesh.
45. Approximately 50 fruits are held by 1 cactus.
46. In ancient times, parsley was a symbol of sadness.
47. Approximately 120 euros standing nightshade seeds. This plant is so expensive only because it can instantly kill.
48. There are approximately 50 types of nasturtium in the world.
49. If a mimosa is irritated, then it instantly begins to fold the leaves.
50. Not Holland is considered the birthplace of tulips. These flowers were first seen in the deserts of the Tien Shan and in the Central Asian steppe zones.
51.Most of the atmosphere on Earth is produced by algae.
52. In Brazil, a tree grows, which has the name "milk nipple".
53. The greenhouse effect is reduced by about 20% thanks to trees.
54. Approximately 10% of nutrients are absorbed by trees from the soil, and the rest from the atmosphere.
55. From an average tree, it will be possible to create approximately 170 thousand pencils.
56. Stevia is the plant that can replace lollipops. This plant has a sweeter taste than candy.
57. There is a lichen in Antarctica that is 10,000 years old.
58. Inflorescence ancient plant Puya Raymonda has 8,000 flowers.
59. The most tall plant world space is considered a sequoia tree.
60. All plants have a specific taste and aroma.