Plants

Friday, 16 January 2026
21 facts about olives
21 facts about olives
"Where the olive refuses to grow, there the Mediterranean world ends"
It is not known exactly when and where the first olive tree, characteristic of the Mediterranean region, grew. Paleobotanists claim that wild olives g ...

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Sycamore maple tree
The leaves are arranged opposite, and placed on very long petioles, 10 to 20 cm (3,93 - 7,87 in).
The petioles do not secrete milky sap, as is the case with the common maple. The leaves do not devel ...
Avocado
Avocado is pear-shaped, round, or egg-shaped.
It is usually 7 – 20 centimeters long and weighs about 100 – 170  grams. Its flesh is fat and creamy, and the outer layer thick, leathery, and green or brown-green.
Sesame seeds
Sesame oil is a rich source of tryptophan.
Tryptophan is necessary for synthesizing melatonin responsible for the regularity of the diurnal rhythm. 100 grams of sesame provides the daily tryptophan requirement, thus providing better sleep.
Jerusalem artichoke
Jerusalem artichoke tubers can be eaten raw, cooked or pickled.
In France and Italy, they are used to prepare soups. They are most often prepared similarly to potat ...
Vanilla
Vanilla flowers are hand-pollinated.
The flower opens for just one day. It opens at sunrise and can only be pollinated for a few hours - ...
Sugar maple
Sugar maple trees thrive in cooler climates.
The perfect temperature is an average of -7 degrees Celsius (20 F).
Vanilla
Until the 19th century, Mexico was the homeland of vanilla, as it was the only place with varieties of stingless bees of the Melipona and Trigona genera that pollinated the plants.
It was not until Edmond Albius, a horticulturalist from Réunion (an island in the Indian Ocean about ...
Sycamore maple tree
Sycamore leaves are lobed, single.
The blade is roundish, palmately lobed, large, 10-20 cm (3,93 - 7,87 in) long and about the same wid ...
Pears
Annual pear production is more than 23 million tons.
The leading producer is China, which supplies more than 68 percent of these fruits. Other major pear ...
Coconut tree
Coconut shells are a good source of charcoal, so they are used as fuel.
They are also used in theaters and for movie soundtracks. The clacking of the nutshell halves against each other mimics the clatter of horse hooves.