Interesting information about flowers. Interesting facts that they won't teach you at school. Report on flowers. Message about flowers

What do we know about flowers? This - beautiful plants that accompany a person at all stages of his life. Different types Flowers have different symbolism, be it a declaration of love, fidelity, friendship, respect and even memory. In addition to this, we have prepared a whole list of “ Interesting Facts about flowers." Find out more about which plants you give as gifts, love to receive as gifts, grow at home, or have only seen on TV!

1. The name “gladiolus” was given to the plant by the Ancient Roman writer Pliny the Elder. In the 1st century AD, he drew attention to the similarity of the flower with the weapons of gladiators. Therefore, translated from Roman “Gladius” means “sword”.
2. The oldest rose in the world grows in Germany. For more than 1000 years, it blooms every year at Hildesheim Cathedral. The bush was almost equal to the roof of the building.

3. Did you know that the rose was recognized as the national flower of the United States in 1986 by a decision of Congress?
4. The fact that the name of a sunflower comes from the flower’s characteristic of turning its head towards the sun has been known since school days. But few people know that before the appearance modern technologies It was the sunflower that was attached to life jackets to determine the cardinal directions.

5. Do you like a spice like saffron? Then you should know: to get just one ounce of it (just over 28 grams) you need to collect and process about 5 thousand flowers.
6. Orchids – unique flowers. Nowadays, its most intricate types have been developed, including green and black. But it was never possible to produce a blue orchid.

7. 80% of Australia's tropical flowers are found nowhere else on Earth except this continent.
8. Flowers began to be cultivated and grown in Egypt more than 4 thousand years ago.
9. Holland is the country of tulips. Hundreds and even thousands of types of beautiful flowers grow in the fields of this state. But there were times when there were no tulips in Holland. They were originally brought from Turkey (in the 16th century). Then one bulb of this plant was worth more than precious stones and metals: about 2 thousand dollars.

10. Chrysanthemums are the imperial flowers of Japan. In this regard, the country has the Order of the Chrysanthemum and a holiday in honor of this flower.
Most of the Japanese favorite flowers are odorless. In this state, it is customary to admire the beauty of a plant (even a fruit one) rather than to inhale its aroma.
11. One of the fastest growing flowers in the world is the tulip. In just one day it can grow 2 centimeters.
12. South American wild ficus has the longest roots. There is information that the root system of one of the representatives of this plant reached more than 120 meters.

13. Peony is considered the national flower of China. In this country he is credited with truth magical properties. The Chinese believe that peony drives out evil spirits from homes.
14. In the harsh region of the Arctic Circle you can find bushes wild rose.
15. Scientific name Forget-me-not plants (despite the deep meaning of the word) mean “mouse ear.”

16. Floating duckweed Wolffia arrhiza - the smallest flowering plant worldwide. The size of its tiny leaves barely reaches one millimeter.
17. Many beautiful flowers are excellent healers. For example, delphinium was once often used as a lotion for fractures.
18. On the slopes of the mountains of South America there grows a flower that blooms only after 150 years. After this he dies.

19. Dahlias are named after the navigator George. Giving these flowers means showing respect and friendship.
20. The Australian flower Rizantella Gardner spends all stages of its life underground. It is even pollinated by termites, underground insects.

Interesting video. A rare giant flower has bloomed in Japan.

The school course gives us a fairly clear basis of knowledge. The humanities and exact sciences are presented (ideally) to a sufficient degree so that a young person can enter the world adapted. And everything seems to be working out. However, then an adult encounters little things that simply do not fit the acquired knowledge pattern. And from this arise myths, fakes and alternative sciences, which can lead into “heresy” and a pseudoscientific swamp.

Green blood in humans

No, we are not turning into aliens. It's about the color of blood underwater. More precisely about our color perception. Water works as a light filter. Red waves do not penetrate a depth of 3 meters. So at a level of 20 meters the blood will look brown, and at 40-50 it will look green. This fact has seriously begun to help fishermen when choosing bait for fish.

It's not cold in the igloo

An igloo made of snow can be built by one person in about an hour. Most of us think that it will be very cold, because everything is made of snow. Let's remember the school physics course: warm air rises up. That is why the entrance to the igloo is located as close as possible to the ground and is made in the form of a corridor. So the thermal cap inside will be maximum. After warming up the room, the temperature inside can reach +20 C. At the same time, the external cold, which freezes the walls and roof, does not allow them to melt.

Brain surgeries are often performed without general anesthesia

Such manipulations look creepy, and even Doctor Lector in one of the sequels to “The Silence of the Lambs” demonstrated this feature. doesn't feel pain. Therefore, only the area through which access will be performed is anesthetized. Interestingly, some doctors during complex operations ask the patient to play some kind of instrument. musical instrument(if he can). If the surgeon makes a minimal mistake, the patient will immediately stop playing. True, at this moment the doctor will understand that it would have been better to call a more experienced colleague.

Fresh flowers always please the eye and lift your spirits. It seems that you won’t hear anything new about the same roses, tulips or daffodils - everything has long been written, told and sung. Meanwhile, there are still many interesting facts that will surprise even the most avid botanists and flower growers.

Obvious-incredible

Some flowers have such an unusual and amazing appearance that you immediately understand how limitless Mother Nature’s imagination is. Here are just a few of her creations:

Chirantodendron. People call it the Devil's Hand or the Monkey's Hand. And indeed, outwardly the flower looks, at least, strange, and if completely objectively, terrifying. Large petals can be compared to the gates of hell, releasing a devilish hand into the “world”, ready to drag anyone who happens to be nearby into the underworld.

The unusual plant grows in Mexico, is very hardy and can withstand significant temperature changes. It grows quickly and often reaches a height of up to 25 meters. Because of its charismatic appearance, it had no chance of going unnoticed among people, so it is not surprising that the flower was held in high esteem by the ancient Aztecs and was actively used in various religious rites.

If bumblebees could smile, they would look exactly like this one amazing flower. Translated from Greek, the name means “eyebrow,” and if you look closely, you can see a neat velvet border that resembles eyebrow arches. Color palette Ophrys petals vary from white, yellow and pink to brown-gold. It is logical that the main pollinators of this plant are bees. The purpose of the bait is very similar to the “original” - the bumblebee flies to the appearance and smell, wanting to mate with the female, and ultimately participates in the pollination process.

The birthplace of the flower is Malta. For beeworms to grow, the presence of a certain type of mold in the soil is required, so breeding in other conditions is practically impossible. Attempts to adapt the ofris to the climate of Great Britain and Australia were partially successful - due to the lack of a suitable type of bees, the plant was “transferred” to self-pollination.

Prostitute lips. Other names - Hot Lips, Flower Lips. Looking at this extraordinary flower, nothing else comes to mind. In fact, the red semicircles that form the shape of a woman's mouth are bracts. That is, no longer leaves, but not yet petals. They remain in their crimson-red state for only a couple of days, after which they turn inside out, opening the way for white and yellow flowers. Visually it looks as if the lady suddenly decided to stick out her tongue.

It’s interesting that the Prostitute’s Lips are not just original, but also quite dangerous plant. It belongs to the category of madder, which are famous for their ability to release psychedelic substances - for example, Dimethyltryptamine. It grows in the tropical forests of Costa Rica, Colombia and Panama. Due to its great popularity among collectors, the flower is now in danger of extinction.

Lithops or Living Stones. When you see this flower, a certain optical illusion arises. The pretty bright yellow daisies seem to grow right out of the rocks. Like all fleshy plants, lithopos are distinguished by good endurance and the ability to adapt to different weather conditions. environment. They tolerate drought, wind and rain well and can take root even in soilless areas. It is enough to stick a leaf into a layer of pebbles for roots to grow. Flower stones are endemic to South America, but also thrive in the home.

Amorphophallus. It is not for nothing that the Corpse Lily received its second name - its smell is simply disgusting. In the middle of a giant shuttlecock, painted dark burgundy inside, rises a phallus-like “head of cabbage”, the height of which can reach 3.5 meters. Such monsters also weigh a lot - from 10 kg and above. Amorphophallus is considered the largest single flower in the world, living exclusively in Indonesia, and more precisely, on the island of Sumatra.

For my long life(about 40 years) the plant can bloom only a few times, so when this significant event happens, it becomes top news not only in local, but also in world news. Despite the foul aroma it exudes, the Corpse Lily is quite popular among insects. For the most part, these are carrion eaters and flies that act as pollinators. Another amazing fact: Each fertilized flower can produce a “harvest” of 3-4 million seeds.

Natural forecasters and geologists

It has long been noticed that some flowers react very sensitively to weather changes and can act as real predictors. For example, before the rain, buttercups and hollyhocks lower their heads and appear wilted. Similar behavior is observed in the well-known marigolds. In monsteras and cannas, droplets of moisture appear on the leaves.

But acacia and honeysuckle, on the contrary, in anticipation of a thunderstorm, emit a more intense aroma, attracting more insects. On the eve of drought, the fern curls its leaves into tubes, trying to retain maximum moisture. If there are no flowers described above nearby, then you can diagnose the weather using ordinary dandelions. When they are open to the world and the sun, there will definitely not be rain.

In countries with active volcanoes, people have learned to predict eruptions by looking at primrose flowers. Excessively heated soil stimulates the plant to grow and bloom even out of season. Poppy and violet can act as natural geologists. The first one feels great on soil rich in copper and molybdenum, and the second one accurately identifies zinc deposits. It was thanks to the violet that the largest zinc vein in Europe was discovered at one time.

Floral heraldry

Since the Middle Ages, flowers have been actively used to create heraldic designs, not as decoration, but to have a specific symbolic meaning. The most frequent “guests” were roses and lilies, which were prototypes of the image of the Mother of God.

The rose symbolized beauty and perfection, and only royal families had the right to depict wreaths and garlands on their coats of arms. Noble families that had no blood connection with the rulers were forced to be content with single flowers. Introduced in Europe in the 13th century, the red damask rose was brought to England after the Crusades and became the emblem of the Lancastrian royal court. But representatives of the York dynasty preferred a white rose and decorated their coat of arms with it. As different branches of the same Plantagenet family, the two families entered history through a grueling thirty-year war with each other, which was later called the War of the Roses.

During the time of Louis IV, the coat of arms of France was decorated with a lily. Coins in the form of silver and gold lilies were even used in circulation, and the king himself was called the king of lilies. The Royal House of Bourbon, which ruled the country for more than 200 years, was literally obsessed with this flower. Her image could be found everywhere - on carriage doors, flags, musketeer uniforms, court clothing, etc. After the overthrow of the monarchy, the lily lost its title, and subsequently scientists came to the conclusion that the iris served as the prototype for the coat of arms.

The emblem of Singapore is the Miss Joaquin orchid. The pink-violet shades of the flower resemble the colors national clothes Singaporean women. This type of orchid also has the ability to bloom all year round, which, according to the local government, symbolizes technological progress and people’s desire for progress.

The burdock takes pride of place on the coat of arms of Scotland, symbolizing the stamina, tenacity, vitality and fearlessness of the northern people. There is a legend that tells how foreigners wanted to conquer Scottish territories, and the local population fiercely resisted them. Hiding in the darkness of the night, the enemies tried to surround the warriors’ camp, but stumbled upon a thistle in the darkness. Crying out in pain and surprise, they revealed their presence and were defeated by the resistance army. Since then, the inconspicuous thorn has proudly flaunted on the country’s coat of arms, reflecting its rebellious character and fighting spirit.

The Baltic states chose modest and delicate flowers for their coats of arms. For example, Lithuania preferred fragrant rue, and Finland fell in love with lily of the valley. Before the introduction of the euro, this beautiful and fragrant flower was featured on the Finnish currency.

Chrysanthemum has long been loved and revered by the Japanese. Its compact, laconic inflorescences are ideal for discreet Japan. The flower was a symbol of the imperial house, and already in modern times a special variety of chrysanthemums was developed, called imperial.

Use in cooking

Flowers have been used for cooking since ancient times Ancient Rome and Greece. What can we say about modern cooking? Some plants are used as decorations for dishes, others are added as spices, others are added fresh to food - there are a lot of options.

Mallow leaves are a “substitute” for salad, having a pleasant mild taste. Outwardly they resemble Maple leaves, attached to a tall stem, which is crowned with white, purple or pink inflorescences. When cooked, mallow becomes slippery and slimy, so it should only be eaten fresh.

Calendula grows on almost every personal plot and is famous for its healing properties. Besides medicinal use, it can be actively added to soups, salads, rice and even pasta. When frying or boiling, the petals give off their color, so calendula in some cases can easily replace saffron.

Nasturtium. Few people know, but the famous weaving garden plant It is edible and can serve as a seasoning in salads and main courses. The seed fruits taste like capers, and they can also be used instead of peppers, after being well dried and chopped.

This is also interesting

Flowers were sung in the poems of Pushkin, Blok, Tyutchev, and Dumas’ famous novel “The Black Tulip” is generally considered a classic of world literature. Here's another series educational facts about flowers:

The oldest rose is over 1000 years old. The location of the famous rose bush is a flower bed near the Hildesheim Cathedral, Germany. The plant literally occupied the wall of the cathedral, rising victoriously on the very roof of the building.
The Puya Raymonda flower opens its petals only once every 150 years. After the first and only flowering it dies. This miracle grows on the slopes of the mountains of South America.
The golden orchid, which releases its arrows only after 15 years of life, is rightfully considered one of the most expensive flowers in the world. Its price can reach $5,000, and to buy this beauty you will need to go to Malaysia.
“Like a bug” - this is how the name of the elegant, bright and cheerful coreopsis is translated. At first glance, it’s pure mockery, but if you look at the seeds of this flower, then everything falls into place - outwardly you can’t distinguish them from bedbugs.

The world of flowers is amazing, and the deeper their topic is studied, the stronger the desire to learn more and more.

Beautiful flowers have been decorating homes for many centuries, they are used as gifts to express attention, and they are even used to decorate clothes and hair. And biologists are fascinated by their diversity, most interesting properties some species and the complete uniqueness of others. The life span of some of them is very short, but bright and beautiful, like creation itself.

Facts about flowers

All processes of sexual and asexual reproduction of angiosperms take place in flowers.
The smallest flowers can be seen on ponds, near common duckweed. Their diameter does not exceed 1 millimeter. And the largest, Rafflesia Arnold, grows in Indonesia, and its diameter exceeds 90 cm and weighs up to 11 kg ().
The name forget-me-not has the same meaning in all major European languages.
The world's largest flower, Amorphophallum titanum, is also native to Indonesia. It reaches a height of 3 meters.
In the Middle Ages there was a real language of flowers. Thus, with the help of a rose and myrtle, the noble knight made it clear that he was asking the lady for her hand and heart, and a twig of cherry with a flower meant a declaration of love. This “flower language” is called “selam” ().
The Malaysian golden orchid is considered the most expensive flower in the world. It blooms for the first time only after reaching 15 years of age.
In Germany, in the city of Hildesheim, the oldest flowers in the world grow. The rose bush near the local cathedral is over a thousand years old.
Real mimosas lilac color, not yellow. The yellow ones, which are usually called mimosas, are silver acacia.
People began growing flowers in gardens about 4 thousand years ago. The most ancient gardens, as far as we know, were built by the ancient Egyptians.
Flowers are present on the coats of arms of many countries - Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iran and many others ().
In the USA, each state has its own flower symbol.
Some types of flowers are quite edible. For example, jams and even salads are made from dandelions prepared in a special way.
There are no black flowers in the world. There are no white ones either - those that seem so are actually just colorless.

In the mountains of South America there grows an amazing flower that blooms only once in a lifetime, and only after reaching the age of about 150 years.
In Japan, chrysanthemums are considered imperial flowers, and one of the highest state awards called the Order of the Chrysanthemum ().
In China, peonies are believed to ward off evil spirits. By the way, these flowers got their name in honor of the legendary healer Pean, who, according to legend, treated even the gods.
Some flowers are surprisingly resilient. One species of wild rose even grows near the Arctic Circle.
At first, tulip flowers were worth their weight in gold after their appearance in Europe.
Now the Netherlands is famous for its tulips, but few people know that these flowers were brought to their country by the Dutch only in the 16th century from Turkey ().
Bees can distinguish between flowers with and without nectar based on the patterns they see on the petals.
In India, flowers are often used in sacrificial rituals - they are burned in a sacred fire.
All bell flowers are always pointed downwards to protect their delicate inner part from the rain.
The first plant to bloom in space was Arabidorpis. He was brought to the Soviet orbital station"Salyut-7" in 1982 for experimental purposes ().
The amazing Australian Risenthella orchid produces flowers not on the surface, but underground. It is even pollinated by beetles, not bees.
People have bred about 50 thousand species of roses, all of which come from wild rose hips.
The number of petals of a rose flower varies from 5 to 128.
It has been experimentally proven that flowers react differently to different people, depending on how they treat them.

Of course, flowers are an integral part of a relationship and besides this, flowers are the most common gift in the world. It's also worth noting that many countries have a national flower. For example, in China the national flower is the peony. There are a huge number of types of flowers, which in turn are divided into varieties. Especially for you, we have prepared a selection of the most unusual and interesting facts about flowers.

The most expensive flower is the golden orchid; the cost of one flower reaches $5,000. This is because the golden orchid begins to bloom when the plant is 15 years old.

It is believed that the first flowers began to be grown in Ancient Egypt.

The first flower to bloom in space was Arabidopsis.

Growing in Indonesia, Amorphophallus Titanum is the tallest flower in the world. Its height reaches three meters.

Perhaps one of the most interesting families of flowers are the Sundews. The most common and recognizable flower from this family is the Dionaea flycatcher.