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Now on the shelves of shops you can find not only the usual cucumbers or tomatoes, but also exotic berries and fruits. Not everyone was lucky enough to visit a banana or pineapple plantation, so many do not know exactly how the familiar kiwi or avocado grows.
Fortunately, now there is the Internet, and in order to view exotic plants, it is not necessary to cross the ocean. We will not only show you how they look, but also tell you about some of the features of plants, dispel popular myths.
10 Capers
Capers are small shrubs with oval or rounded leaves, somewhat similar to a spoon. They are small and fleshy.
But in cooking, not leaves are used, but unblown flower buds, which are called capers. They are collected, sorted, left overnight, after which they are salted or pickled.
Smaller capers are more tender, while larger capers are spicier. Cooks prefer dense small buds up to 1 cm in length.
9. Artichokes
In appearance, the artichoke is very similar to the thistle. But it has larger flowers up to 20 cm in diameter, and inflorescences of a pleasant blue-lilac color. This plant has large carved leaves. The basket of the flower is eaten.
Artichokes, which do not exceed the size of an egg, are consumed raw or canned, pickled. Large ones that grow from an orange are boiled, after removing the hard hairs in the center and the tips of the leaves. If the flower has opened, become hard, it is not suitable for cooking.
8. Wasabi
It is a common herbaceous inconspicuous plant that has a long creeping or ascending stem that grows up to 45 cm.
It has small round or heart-shaped leaves, located on a long petiole. Wasabi blooms in April or May, it has small white flowers. Then a fruit appears – a pod, inside which you can find 8 seeds.
He prefers to grow on the banks of mountain rivers. Another common name is “Japanese horseradish”, but it’s not actually horseradish. In Japanese cuisine, its rhizome is used, from which wasabi seasoning is made.
Real wasabi is only made in Japan. To grow it, you need to comply with a number of conditions, and this seasoning cannot be cheap. For 1 kg of wasabi root, they usually pay more than 200 euros.
In other countries, they often use a substance called “wasabi”, but in fact it is a mixture of horseradish, food coloring and spices. There is either no wasabi root in this paste, or its share is below 2%.
7. Kiwi
In China, tree-like vines once grew, which were called “Chinese gooseberries.” Their real name is actinidia. Its fruits weighed only 30 g.
At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, this plant was brought to New Zealand, where a new variety was bred, which had larger fruits with excellent taste. Now kiwi looks like a tree, but it needs support.
During one season, kiwi leaves change color: from green they become white, then pink and crimson. The fruits of the tropical creeper are collected in clusters and are located at the very top.
6. bananas
Many do not doubt that bananas grow on palm trees, i.e. it is the fruit that we collect from the trees. And then a surprise awaits them, and not one, but as many as 2. A banana grows up to 8 m in length, its stem diameter is 40 cm. But this is not a tree, but a herbaceous plant. Its leaves, which sometimes reach up to 3 m in length, do not grow on branches, like all trees, but directly from the trunk.
Bananas themselves are not fruits, as we used to think, but berries. Wild varieties have seeds inside, but bananas we know do not have them, because. breeders worked on it. The fruits are collected in clusters, their number can reach up to 100 pieces.
The plant reaches 8 m in height in 9-10 months, after which a large inflorescence, a purple bud, is formed. It has female, bisexual and male flowers. Gradually, a bunch with fruits is formed. After fruiting, the banana stem dies off, and a new one grows in its place.
5. Pineapples
In appearance, pineapple is similar to a shrub. It grows up to 60 cm in height. It has narrow, juicy, but rough leaves, serrated along the edges. In fact, it is also a perennial herb.
A flower shoot forms in the center of the pineapple, flowers appear on it, and later – the fruit. It is somewhat reminiscent of a bump, because. all covered with scales. Leaves are at the top.
4. Peanut
In the people, peanuts are often called peanuts. But in fact, peanuts are not a nut, but a legume. This is an annual plant that grows up to 25-40 cm in height, with branched shoots. It has straight stems, shaped like a bush.
The leaves reach 3-11 m in length, they are slightly pubescent. The flowers are yellow and can self-pollinate. The pedicel, which ends with the ovary, gradually lengthens and penetrates the ground. Seeds ripen in the soil.
One plant produces about 40 beans. It takes 120 to 160 days from planting to harvest. As soon as the peanut is ripe, the farmers pluck the bushes and turn them over to dry the beans. Then they won’t spoil.
3. Garnet
This is a small tree that stretches up to 5 m. It has narrow green leaves, which are up to 8 cm long and up to 2 cm wide. In the tropics, the pomegranate remains evergreen, and in regions with cool winters, its leaves fall off.
At the age of 3 years, the first flowers appear on the tree. Pomegranate begins to bloom in spring, ends towards the end of summer, and individual flowers may appear in autumn. Most varieties have bright red flowers.
Fruits ripen 4-5 months after flowering, but on condition that the air temperature does not fall below 25 degrees. From one tree, you can collect from 30 to 60 kg of fruit. In good conditions, it can bear fruit for up to 100 years.
2. Avocado
It grows on fast-growing, highly branched trees that grow up to 18-20 m in height. From 150 to 200 kg of fruits are harvested from one tree.
It has oval leaves 10 to 20 cm long, and small greenish flowers are located at the end of the branches. According to its chemical composition, avocados are closer to vegetables than to fruits, because. its pulp has little sugar, but it is very nutritious.
The leaves, peel and stone contain toxic persin, dangerous to humans and animals. Because of it, a person may have malfunctions in the digestive system or an allergy, and birds, rabbits, horses and other animals may die if they eat an avocado bone or peel.
1. Brussels sprouts
This is a vegetable crop that was bred from ordinary, leafy cabbage in Belgium. It is a biennial plant with a thick stem that grows up to 20-60 cm in height. Small or medium-sized leaves grow on it, which are held on a long petiole (14-33cm).
In the axils of these leaves, small heads of cabbage are formed, similar in size to a walnut, but in appearance no different from ordinary cabbage. From one plant, you can collect from 20 to 40 heads of cabbage.
In the second year, the cabbage shoots out, blooms and gives seeds – a pod, inside of which there are crayons, round dark brown seeds.