If you decide to travel around the world, you will run into some pretty interesting plants. We have compiled a list some of the ones we think are the craziest looking.

Where I’m from: The Island of Socotra, off the coast of Yemen in the Indian Ocean.

Foliage facts: This relative of the palm tree has leaves that can grow 60 cm long and 3 cm wide. This plant gets its name from the dark resin that it makes. This ‘dragon’s blood’ has been used since ancient times for medicine and dyes.

http://www.arkive.org/dragons-blood-tree/dracaena-cinnabari/

Where I’m from: The Island of Madagascar, off the coast of Africa.

Foliage facts: The trunk of a Grandidier’s Baobab can grow up to 3 m across and 25 m tall. This tree gets its name from a 19th century French naturalist and explorer, Alfred Grandidier.
http://www.arkive.org/grandidiers-baobab/adansonia-grandidieri/#

Where I’m from: Native to India and Pakistan

Foliage facts: Banyans are a type of strangling fig that grows on trees, eventually covering them completely. This fig has aerial roots (in the air) that can start new trunks and get as big as 200 m in diameter and 30 m tall.

http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Ficus-benghalensis.htm

#4 Talipot Palm (Corypha umbraculifera)

Where I’m from: Originally from India but it has been introduced to Sri Lanka.

Foliage facts: Talipot palms grow for 30-80 years patiently waiting then when they have enough energy they spring into action. The palm will grow a flowering stalk with a dull green fruit and over 20 million flowers that take about a year to mature then the plant will die.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/38494/0

Where I’m from: Southern Africa

Foliage facts: This plant makes a bright orange or red flower but don’t get too close because it lets off a gross odor that it uses to attract insects, which help with pollination. Everything but the flower of this plant grows underground where it connects to other plants and feeds off of them.

http://www.plantzafrica.com/planthij/hydnorafric.htm

Where I’m from: Native to Namibia and Southern Angola (Africa)

Foliage facts: This unique plant grows two leaves when it’s young, keeping them throughout its crazy long life, an estimated 400-1500 years! Welwitschia lay on the ground (they only ever reach 500 mm in height) and over time they get tattered and torn.

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantwxyz/welwitschia.htm

Where I’m from: South East Asia

Foliage facts: This plant produces around 25 flowers that are said to look like spooky bat wings. They also have heavy berries and long (25 cm) “whiskers” attached to the flowers that look like a forked tail.

http://books.google.ca/

Where I’m from: Southern Africa, especially South Africa

Foliage facts: The Sea urchin is very rare in its natural setting but every year thousands are grown to sell. Make sure you are careful if you ever run into one, they make a milky subsistence that is poisonous!

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/euphorbobesa.htm

Where I’m from: Warm-temperate to tropical regions of Asia and northeast Australia

Foliage facts: This lotus is a lot like a water lily, they both grow their roots in muddy shallow water with the leaves and flower floating on the surface. What makes the Indian lotus special is the thing in the centre that looks kinda like an ice-cream cone.

http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Nelumbo-nucifera.htm

Where I’m from: Originally from Southern Asia and Malaysia but it can now be found throughout the tropics

Foliage facts: This vine is a hearty grower reaching up to 6 m and over 10 m when it has things to climb. The Velvet bean also grows funky looking pods that are 10 to 12.5 cm in length, curved and covered with grey-white silky hair.

http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Gbase/data/pf000054.htm

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.

Ever heard of a Sneezewort, or a Monkey Puzzle Tree? We’ve got a whole list of wonky plants and the inside scoop on where they got their funny names!

#1 Sneezewort Yarrow (Achillea ptarmica)

Also known as: Sneezeweed

I’m named this because… I was once used as a sneezing powder. Sneezeweed was dried up and used to get people to sneeze to clear out their sinuses!

Fun fact: This plant doesn’t just make people sneeze; it can also be eaten in salads or used as an insect repellent.

http://www.eol.org/pages/467230

#2 Hooded Skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata)

Also known as: Marsh Skullcap

I’m named this because… my flowers look like caps

Fun fact: The Hooded Skullcap is part of the mint family but it doesn’t taste like mint! One of its relatives is also famous, the plant, called mad-dog weed, was used in medieval times as a remedy for rabid-dog bites.

http://www.ontariowildflower.com/lakeedge.htm#skullcapmarsh
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/skullcap-000273.htm

#3 Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana)

Also known as: Chilean Pine

I’m named this because… an Englishman in the early 1800s said that the tree would be a puzzle for a monkey to climb, even though there are no monkeys where this tree grows!

Fun fact: These trees can live for many years; the oldest is over 800 years old! These trees can also grow as big as 150 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 7 feet.

http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/pow/monkey_puzzle_tree.htm

#4 Devil’s Walkingstick (Aralia spinosa)

Also known as: Angelica-Tree, Prickly Elder, Hercules Club

Fun fact: The stems of the shrub have long “prickles” and it is not uncommon to see them grow 15 cm long!

http://www.fs.fed.us/global/iitf/pdf/shrubs/Aralia%20spinosa.pdf

#5 Turkey Corn (Dicentra eximia)

Also known as: Fringed Bleeding Heart

Fun fact: This is the most heat tolerant plant in the Dicentra family. It will continue to grow throughout the summer, as long as the soil does not dry out.

http://www.eol.org/pages/594616

#6 Kangaroo Paws (Anigozanthos flavidus)

I’m named this because… clusters of my flowers look like a paw.

Fun fact: In the wild Kangaroo Paws can only be found in South Western Australia.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/wa.emblem.html
http://anpsa.org.au/a-flav.html

# 7 Butter and Eggs (Linaria vulgaris)

Also known as: Yellow Toadflax, Brideweed

I’m named this because… my flower looks like an egg yolk

Fun fact: According to myth, Butter and Eggs was originally a yellow dragon that transformed, sadly it then choked on a fried egg.

http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/weedsbc/weed_desc/yel_toad.html
http://chestofbooks.com/flora-plants/flowers/Wild-Illinois/Butter-And-Eggs-Wild-Snapdragon-Toadflax.html

# 8 Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum tectorum)

Also known as: House Leeks

I’m named this because… I form in a large cluster (the hen) surrounded by smaller patches (the chicks)

Fun Fact: Hen and Chicks were originally planted on roofs as protection against lightning because they are linked to Thor and Zeus, the two mythical gods of lightning.

http://www.eol.org/pages/484887

#9 Lambsquarters (Chenopodium album)

Also known as: Fat Hen, White Goosefoot, Wild Spinach

I’m named this because… the word Lambsquarters comes from lammas quarter which is a harvest festival that was held on August 1st in 9th century England where this plant was eaten. The nickname goosefoot comes from the leaves that look like a goose’s foot.

Fun fact: This plant can produce 75,000 seeds and can grow in many soil types. Lambsquarters is also very healthy for you; it contains more vitamins and essential minerals than many vegetables, especially Lettuce, Spinach and Cabbage

http://communitygarden.org/rebeltomato/pdf/Science_Pages/lambsquarters_science_page.pdf

# 10 Cheeseweed Mallow (Malva parviflora)

Also known as: Little Mallow

I’m named this because… the shape of my fruit looks like mini cheese rounds but they do not taste like cheese!

Fun fact: Stay away from this plant if you’re a chicken, poultry that eat this plant’s seeds or leaves may produce lower quality eggs.

John Kallas, Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate. Gibbs Smith(publisher), Utah: 2010,Page 103 http://bit.ly/ezTEiJ

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.