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 ( seratiοn), 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 root system Eucalyptus trees suck 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 were happy witnesses to the flowering of this peculiar 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 weight 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 unusual plants native to 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. A sweet oily liquid was isolated from its leaves and flowers, 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, which grows in the rainforests of Nigeria and other West African countries. 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. The 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 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 the forests with growing young coniferous trees, regardless 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.
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 Ancient Babylon banned 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 the rocky soils of the 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.
Welwitschia is amazing (Welwitschia mirabilis). This desert dwarf tree can be up to 2000 years old.
From the short stump-like trunk of the plant, two huge leaves extend in both directions,
which, as they grow, tear longitudinally into ribbons, and the ends dry out.
These giant leaves are as old as the tree. The leaves continually grow from the base and the tips die back.
In some cases, the length of the leaves can reach 8 meters, and the length is 1.8 meters.
Amorphophallus
The genus Amorphophallus, as well as the genus Rafflesia, is famous for its “subtle aroma” of decaying flesh. The smell coming from the flower is terrible. Few people are able to admire the amorphophallus without a gas mask. The flower of most representatives of this genus is huge in size (Especially the species shown in the photo, Amorphophallus titanum) and can reach a height of 2.5 meters with a diameter of 1.5 meters. In many eastern countries The tubers of this plant are used in the preparation of various culinary dishes and medicines. 
Opuntia bigelovii
Opuntia Bigelow is probably one of the most amazing species of the Opuntia genus of the Cactus family. The photo above was taken in California national park Joshua-Tree. In the photograph, the entire desert landscape to the horizon is covered with amazing fluffy cacti, up to two meters high. In the rays of the setting sun the landscape looks fantastic. The person here has the impression that he, as part of a space expedition, landed on another planet covered with unknown life forms. 
Carnegiea gigantea
Carnegia gianta (Saguaro) another one amazing plant family Cactus. The most amazing feature of this cactus is its gigantic size. The height of individual plants is about 14 meters, and the diameter is more than 3 meters! Moreover, the age of individual cacti reaches 150 years. 
Nepenthes
Most plants from this genus can be called, without exaggeration, “predators”, which receive the necessary missing nutrients, “digesting” captured insects. The plant has modified leaves that resemble pitchers in shape. The inner surface of the jug is lined with cells that secrete nectar, which serves to attract insects, as well as “hair cells” that make the release of an insect caught in the net impossible. The surface of the “neck” of the jug is very slippery, so there is practically no chance for an insect walking along the neck not to slip down. An insect falls into the water (at individual species the jug can contain up to 2 liters of water) and sinks. Next, enzymes are produced that completely “digest” the insect. Sometimes not only insects, but even mice, rats, and birds are trapped. 
Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)
The Venus flytrap is an even more amazing “killer plant” that takes more active measures to kill its prey. The modified leaves-"jaws" of this plant encroach on the life of not only insects, but also the life of snails and even frogs. 
Ficus benghalensis
At first glance, it may seem that the photo above depicts a forest. In fact, it is one single tree. Ficus Bengal forms powerful branches to support which shoots grow, which, when released down to the ground, take root, forming powerful column-trunks. 
Evergreen sequoia (Sequoia sempervirens)
Sequoia evergreen is the most tall tree of our planet. Our temperate forests are mere grass compared to the forest of these mighty giants. The height of many trees exceeds 110 meters, and their age is more than 3500 years! Previously, houses were hollowed out in sequoia trunks and even tunnels were cut through which roads passed. In windy weather, many visitors to the forest of giants feel uneasy from the noisy “grinding” and swaying of the mighty sequoia trunks. Grows in California. 
Puya raimondii
Puya Raymonda of the Bromeliad family, native to the Bolivian and Peruvian Andes, has the largest inflorescence with a diameter of 2.5 meters and a height of about 12 meters, consisting of approximately 10,000 simple flowers. It is a pity that this amazing plant blooms only when it reaches 150 years of age, and then dies. 