Food
20 Views of your food growing that will give you a brand new perspective
These are fascinating!
Laura Shallcross
01.25.21

Think you know your fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds? How well do you actually know them?

We all know that apples grow on trees and potatoes come up from the ground. But you probably never knew how your favorite nuts and exotic fruits came to be.

We’ve gathered a list of the nuts, seeds, fruits and veggies with the most unusual origins.

1) Capers

Capers grow on a vine of pretty white flowers. They are the unopened buds of the flowers.

Flickr
Source:
Flickr

2) Sesame Seeds

Sesame seeds come from sprouts plants that grow straight up and tall out of the ground inside of little pods known as “buds.”

Wikipedia
Source:
Wikipedia

3) Pineapples

These come from crazy spikey looking bushes that grow out of the ground. The fruit comes from the middle of the plant.

Wikipedia
Source:
Wikipedia

4) Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts are a member of the Germmifera group of cabbages and grow from a leafy green plant that is about 2.5 to 4 cm in diameter. They grow in a cluster and look like little cabbages.

Flickr
Source:
Flickr

5) Artichokes

Artichokes come from big pretty purple flower with feathery tops.

Flickr
Source:
Flickr

6) Pistachios

Pistachios grow in clusters on trees. It usually takes seven to ten years for these trees to get significant production with peak production being reached around 20 years. The pistachios are then dried and dry roasted or processed in machines. They kind of look like mangoes.

Panoramio
Source:
Panoramio

7) Peanuts

Peanuts look like pretty little yellow wildflowers when they grow out of the ground but when you pull those flowers up their roots reveal the little bulbous nuts.

Wordpress
Source:
Wordpress

8) Vanilla Bean

Vanilla bean is also a flowering plant with white flowers. The plant produces long pods that are treated and dried.

Flickr
Source:
Flickr

9) Kiwi

Kiwis also start out as flowers that hang on a vine and grow along trellises. The flower turns into kiwis that hang down until they are ready to be harvested.

Didyouknowfacts
Source:
Didyouknowfacts

10) Cashews
Cashews are super weird looking. They grow on trees that produce cashew apples, then the nuts grow out of the apples.

Wikipedia
Source:
Wikipedia

11) Almonds

Almonds grow off of flowering trees. The little flowers turn into pods and inside those pods are almonds.

Flickr
Source:
Flickr

12) Saffron

Saffron comes from exquisitely beautiful bright purple flowers. The saffron stems come out of the middle of the flowers that are just pulled out of the flower.

The Garden of Eaden
Source:
The Garden of Eaden

13) Cinnamon

I had no idea that cinnamon is dried tree bark.

Didyouknowfacts
Source:
Didyouknowfacts

14) Cranberries

Cranberries grow off of evergreen dwarf shrubs that bear flowers that become the little pieces of fruit.

Pinterest
Source:
Pinterest

15) Cacao

Source: Wikipedia

Cacao, which is what chocolate is, is grown on a tree that produces giant pods. The cacao beans are found inside these pods.

Wikipedia
Source:
Wikipedia

16) Avocado

It’s every healthy foodie’s favorite breakfast staple, but do you know where avocados come from? Botanically, they’re considered extra-large berries, with a large seed that’s surrounded by the fruit that we eat.

Wikipedia
Source:
Wikipedia

17) Papaya

Papayas grow from a tree and look just like bananas when they’re sprouting from the branches. The papaya tree itself is native to Central America and can reach up to 30 meters in height.

Wikipedia
Source:
Wikipedia

18) Dates

If you saw a date tree from afar, you might think it had been taken up residence by several clusters of bees. It’s just the dates, though, which grow in a bird’s nest formation.

Wikipedia
Source:
Wikipedia

19) Asparagus

You’d think Asparagus hung from a tree, but it actually grows straight up from the ground. There’s something a bit sinister about seeing it poking out of the soil like witches’ fingers.

Wikimedia
Source:
Wikimedia

20) Quinoa

While you wouldn’t guess that these flowers were anything special, they actually house the seeds that are used to make quinoa. Who’d’ve thought?

Wikipedia
Source:
Wikipedia

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