Celebrating the weird and wacky wonders of the plant kingdom, experts Christina Harrison and Lauren Gardiner explore some of the more outlandish facts about plants in their new book, Bizarre Botany

DID you know that poison dart frogs raise their young in tank bromeliads high up in the rainforest canopy? Or that juniper wood once fuelled illicit whisky distilleries?

These and a plethora of other amazing facts – which plants are the tallest and smallest, the smelliest and deadliest – have been collated by Christina Harrison, a specialist in plant ecology and garden history, and Lauren Gardiner, a research fellow at Kew, for their latest book, Bizarre Botany, an A to Z revealing some of the quirkiest stories about plants.

“We are fascinated by plants, but we are also excited by how many unusual and fantastic new plant stories we hear all the time, from bizarre uses of plants to discoveries of strange new interactions between plants and animals, insects or fungi,” the authors explain.

Here are 10 of their findings – test your green-fingered relatives on their knowledge of flora and fauna this festive season.

1. Bulbs can alleviate dementia. Extract of some species of snowdrop and daffodil contain galantamine, which has been shown to help nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other, thus relieving some symptoms of dementia.

2. The Ginkgo biloba tree, commonly known as the maidenhair tree, is extraordinarily resistant to forces that would kill most other plants. Six such trees grow around a mile from the centre of Hiroshima, Japan, having survived the 1945 atomic bombing. At that distance from ground zero, almost everything else living died instantly, but the burnt trees survived, re-grew and are still growing today.

3. Fancy a coffee? Surprisingly, honeybees also like caffeine. Some plants like the coffee plant and citrus species have a dash of caffeine in their nectar to help honeybees remember their flower as a good source of nectar and to encourage the bees to keep coming back.

4. Plants can be masters of disguise. Dracula orchids that grow in the cloud forests of Ecuador lure in fruit flies as pollinators by pretending to be mushrooms. Their petals resemble a mushroom and they also emit a mushroomy scent.

5. Know which plants were used in the Egyptian art of embalming? Tutankhamun is thought to have been embalmed in the traditional way – washed and oiled, then wrapped in layers of linen bandages made from the flax plant, among which were placed juniper berries. Once the body was mummified, fresh floral garlands were draped over it, featuring olive and date palm leaves, pomegranate and willow leaves, cornflower and chamomile.

6. Unsurprisingly, broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough has a number of plant namesakes. There’s a Welsh member of the daisy family called Hieracium attenboroughianum, a plant from the Philippines called Nepenthes attenboroughii and a genus in the Annonaceae family called Sirdavidia.

7. More surprisingly, two begonias are named after Star Wars characters - Begonia darthvaderiana and Begonia amidalae.

8. Cucumber - fruit or veg? It’s actually a fruit. The best clue is that a cucumber has seeds inside – which a vegetable does not. Other fruits commonly labelled as veg include butternut squash, olives, aubergines, courgettes, peppers and tomatoes. Rhubarb, on the other hand, may be mistaken for fruit but is actually a veg.

9. There’s hot competition among growers to produce the hottest chilli on record. In 2013 the ‘Carolina Reaper’ became the current Guinness World Record holder and ethno-botanist James Wong estimated that a single one could be used to make 500 litres of curry. Yet only mammals are affected by a chilli’s heat. Birds can gorge themselves, completely unaffected.

10. Yawn-inducing lettuces? Apparently these salad staples may have a soporific effect if you go for some wild species, such as Lactuca virosa. Some Lactuca types exude a milky fluid when their leaves are cut, known by some as ‘lettuce opium’, which can act as a sedative. But take comfort from the fact that modern cultivated lettuces have had the bitterness – and sedative quality – bred out of them.

Bizarre Botany by Christina Harrison and Lauren Gardiner is published by Kew, priced £10. Available now.

GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT: PLANTING NEW FRUIT BUSHES AND CANES

Darlington and Stockton Times:

If you’ve ordered bare-root trees and bushes, such as apples, cherries and plums, they need to be planted as soon as possible.

If the ground is frozen or too wet, heel them in temporarily and put them in later.

That doesn’t mean just chucking them into the ground and hoping for the best.

You’ll need to unwrap them from their packaging and remove any ties, then pile up some soil into a wedge shape around 30cm high and 60cm long, sloping down into a trench which should be big enough to take the plant’s roots.

Cover the roots with a layer of well-drained soil to protect them from really cold weather and don’t let them dry out.

Raspberry canes can also be planted between November and March in the dormant season, in rows trained along a post and wire system.

BEST OF THE BUNCH: IVY

Darlington and Stockton Times:

I KNOW a few gardeners who dislike ivy because of its tough nature and tendency to climb trees, treating it like a weed and pulling it out as soon as they see it appear.

But at this time of year, it is also an invaluable source of colour and contrast and will last ages in decorations, long after the festive season has ended and other plants have wilted.

If you choose the right variety and prune it regularly, it can provide fantastic colour, will grow anywhere and is evergreen, so the colour will remain throughout the year.

On sound walls, it can also look spectacular. Take Hedera colchica ‘Sulphur Heart’ for instance. This self-clinging ivy looks amazing with its massive variegated leaves.

Looking ahead to early spring, you can plant ivy in pots with coloured primulas, ranunculus and early spring bulbs to create a colourful display. Common ivy, Hedera helix, has many varieties.

If you want all yellow leaves, go for ‘Buttercup’, but for something more subtle, ‘Caenwoodiana’ has white veins on a dark green leaf.

Ivy will grow in any soil and thrives in shade, although the variegated types need some sunshine.

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

  • Store seeds you have ordered in a cool place.
  • Take root cuttings from papaver (perennial poppies), verbascum (mullein) and phlox.
  • Clean and store bamboo canes in the shed (or other dry place) to ensure they’re still in good condition for next year. Broken ones can be shortened, where possible, for re-use.
  • Divide and plant rhubarb. Clumps can be lifted and prepared for forcing in early spring.
  • Regularly check fruit stores and remove rotting and mouldy specimens. These can be left out for birds and wildlife as a welcome winter treat.
  • Look out for signs of canker when pruning fruit trees.
  • Harvest Brussels sprouts. Pick the largest sprouts from the bottom of the stalk first.
  • Lift and store celery – it can be heeled in just outside the back door, for easy use. It can also be thickly mulched in situ, using straw or bracken held in place with fleece and hoops of wire, and then lifted when needed.
  • Dig over and incorporate soil improvers into vacant areas of the vegetable plot. You can cover these areas with thick polythene to keep the soil dry and make it easier to work in the spring.
  • Check on tender plants outdoors to ensure winter protection is still in place, especially after storms.