Now that I’ve covered the basics of taking care of plants, I think it’s time to back off of the instructions and dive into a little fun fact entertainment instead. I used to have a best friend that could name a million random facts at the drop of a hat. She’d have us in stitches over whatever random and crazy tidbit of information she'd memorized. For instance, she told us once that President Obama would suck marijuana smoke out of the air with a straw. Or that Moose antlers are the fastest growing organ in the natural world; growing up to 2 cm a day at their peak. Ridiculous stuff, right?
I bet most people don’t know a whole lot about plants—myself included. I know how to take care of plants and know telling signs of distress, yes, but I do I have a educational background in horticulture? Not so much. I’m just a college kid that loves plants, pizza and a daily dose of iced coffee.
OK, so I know you’re wondering what I’m going to start with. Well… drumroll please.
FACT #1: The Amazon rainforest produces half the world’s oxygen supply! It’s hard to believe that one area of land provides half of all the oxygen all 7,714,576,923 of us breathe. Talk about putting the team on your back.
FACT #2: Oak trees are struck by lightning more than any other tree.
FACT #3 Apples, potatoes and onions have the same taste. Test this out by eating them with your nose closed. Both you and your tastebuds will be surprised. Also, pears, peaches, apricots, strawberries, quinces, and apples are all members of the rose family. Did you know you can eat roses? Well now you do.
FACT #4: Bamboo is the fastest-growing woody plant in the world—topping out at 35 inches of growth in a single day.
FACT #5: The California redwood (coast redwood and giant sequoia) are the tallest and largest living organism in the world. They can easily grow to be 300 feet tall, while the tallest tree was discovered in 2006 and is 379.7 feet tall. You can read about it here.
These are just a glimpse into the wonders of plants. There are thousands of different plant species that are all incredibly different from the last. Jungles are full of carnivorous plants, plants that can grow both upwards and downwards and plants that grow as tall as ten to twenty feet. The ferns pictured above grows new leaves from the center of the plant. It is dubbed the bird's nest fern because of this intriguing growth pattern and the two you see are some of my own. Pardon the really rather ugly pot - I didn't know there would be paparazzi today.
For now, though, go and buy a plant that you can call your own. It may not grow almost three feet a day, but then again, do you even want that? Probably neither your landlord or your roommates would probably jump at the idea.
Now that you know how to be the #1 Plant Mom or Dad, go and get started! Your home jungle awaits.
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