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Plant Facts

1. There are some 320,000 species of plants, found on all continents, even Antarctica. Since more are discovered every year, that number will increase over time.
2. 90 % of the foods people eat come from just 30 plants, yet there are over 80,000 edible plants in the world.
3. The typical mature tree can provide enough wood to make 170,100 pencils.
4. Cabbage, broccoli, kale, cauliflower and kohlrabi are all the same species of plant (Brassica oleracea), but were selectively bred for different uses, to the point where they no longer even resemble one another.
5. The smell of freshly-mown grass is actually a plant distress call.
6. The fastest-growing plant is the world is Burmese bamboo (Bambusa burmanica). It can grow up to 91 cm (35 in) per day. That’s almost 4 cm (1.5”) an hour. You could actually watch it grow.
7. If onions make you cry when you chop them, it’s because they give off sulphenic acid, a serious irritant, when you cut them.
8. The word banana comes from the Arabic word banan and means finger and was given because of the fingerlike fruit. And a cluster of bananas is called a hand.
9. Brazil is named after a tree, brazil wood (Paubrasilia echinata, formerly Caesalpinia echinata). It is now the official tree emblem of that country.
10. About 85% of the world’s plant life is found in the ocean.
11. The average strawberry has 200 seeds. It's the only fruit that bears its seeds on the outside.

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