Plants & Trees Facts for Kids
Fascinating facts about the plant world
The great banyan tree in Kolkata's botanical garden has hundreds of aerial roots that have grown into trunks, making it look like a whole forest — it covers about 1.5 hectares and is a single tree.
Cinnamon is made from the dried inner bark of a tropical tree called Cinnamomum; the bark is peeled, dried, and rolled into the sticks or ground into powder we use in cooking.
Popcorn pops because each kernel contains a small drop of water inside its starchy centre; when heated, the water turns to steam and the kernel explodes inside out.
A Venus flytrap leaf can only open and close a limited number of times — usually about three to five times — before it dies and the plant grows a new trap.
Chilli peppers evolved their heat to deter mammals from eating their fruit; birds, which spread their seeds more effectively, cannot taste the spicy chemical capsaicin.
The mimosa plant, called the 'sensitive plant,' folds its feathery leaves shut within seconds when touched and reopens them a few minutes later — this may deter insects from eating it.
Chocolate is made from cocoa beans found inside the large pods that grow directly on the trunk and branches of the cacao tree in tropical forests.
Avocados evolved their large seeds to be swallowed whole by giant prehistoric mammals like mammoths; today, without those animals, humans have become the main spreaders of avocado seeds.
Water lily flowers open in the morning to welcome pollinators and close in the evening; some tropical species trap insects overnight to ensure they pick up pollen.
Snowdrops can push their flowers up through frozen ground and even snow, making them one of the very first flowers to bloom at the end of winter.