1Scientists who study botany, plants have named and described nearly 500,000 different kinds of plants. About 2,000 new kinds of plants are discovered or developed every year. They estimate that number 5000,000 undiscovered species exist in less explored ecosystems such as tropical forests.

a) Gas plant also called dittany; burning bush of fraxinella is an ornamental herb native to Eurasia. The flowers are white or pink in color. The leaves give off a strong aromatic vapor which can be ignited, hence the name gas plant or burning bush.

b) Water meal, the smallest flowering plant is less than 2mm (0.08 inch) in size. An average plant is small enough to pass through the eye of an ordinary sewing needle. It weights about 150 micrograms or the approximate weight of 2-3 stones of table salt.

c) Bristlecone pines of North America are the world’s oldest trees. A stand of bristlecone pine on Wheeler Peak in eastern Nevada is known to contain several trees over 3,000 years old. One of them is thought to be about 4,900 years old.

d) Epiphytes are plants that grow upon or re in some manner attached to another plant or object for physical support. They obtain water from rain debris (pieces of wood, etc.) that collect on the supporting plant.

Epiphytes are most diverse and include large pants such as orchids, aroids, bromeliads and ferns. Smaller epiphytes include plants such as algae, mosses and lichens.

In tropical rainforests, epiphytes are so abundant that often their weight fells trees.

e) Palms have the record for the largest leaves. In that variety the raffia palm of tropical Africa has huge leaves up to 65 feet (20metres) in length, the longest in the plant kingdom.

*Nature records -plants

· The world’s biggest tree ever known was the Lindsey Greek Tree. It was a massive redwood which blew over in 1905. It weighed over 3300 tonnes!

· The world’s tallest living tree is Mendocino redwood tree in California USA. It is 112 meters high.

· General Sherman in California, USA is world’s biggest living tree. It is 83 meters tall with a trunk 11 meters across.

· The Ombu tree of Argentina is the world’s toughest tree. It is able to survive in fire, storm and insect attacks.

· The world’s oldest plant is the king’s Holly in Tasmania. It is thought to be 43,000 years old.

· The world’s most –harvested plant corn. All together, more than 662 million tonnes of corn are produced around the world each year. China is the top producer.

· The world’s largest seed is coco-de-mer. it is just like a double coconut. It weighs up to 18 kg.

· The world’s deadliest plant is castor bean plant. The seeds of caster bean plant contain a protein called ricin. Scientists estimate that ricin is 6,000 times more poisonous than cyanide and 12,000 times more poisonous than rattlesnake venom.

· The world’s largest vegetable is yam. It weighs about 80 kilograms and grows underground. Yams are a major food crop in many African countries.