Most of us, buying ground black pepper or sealed dactyls, never wonder how they actually grow. In fact, some spices, nuts and fruit grow in a rather surprising way. Watch the short gallery and find out where the peanuts or Brussels sprouts actually come from.
#1 Cocoa powder comes from cocoa tree seeds. This evergreen tree forms fruit that looks like overgrown cucumbers. Each of them contains 20 – 60 seeds
#2 Peanuts grow underground. They are leguminous vegetables, originally from South America
#3 Pineapples grow on a stem which is ‘armed’ with long sharp knives
#4 Brussel sprouts grow on long stems (up to 1 meter). Small sprouts are formed under smooth leaves
#5 Sesame is a plant growing up to 1.5 meter. It’s seeds are contained in green sacks. Each of them has got approximately 80 seeds
#6 Vanilla is a climbing plant, up to 10 meters long. It usually climbs around dead tree trunks. Its intensively smelling flowers form pods that are dried
#7 Cinnamon is made of the bark of Cinnamomum tree. This tree can be even 10 meters long. The bark is dried until it rolls
#8 Artichoke belongs to the sunflower family. The flower buds are the edible part
#9 Almonds grow on a tree that at first is covered with bright-pink or white flowers. In fact these are not nuts, but fruit with stones as they grow in shells and in fact they are seeds
#10 Kiwi fruit comes from a fruiting vine native to China. Its greatest plantations are in New Zealand
#11 Wasabi is also known as Japanese horseradish. It grows in cold mountain streams. The edible part is its rhizomes
#12 Asparagus is a perennial. Its sprouts are edible
#13 Cashew nuts grow on trees. They are attached to fruit that looks like an apple and they are covered with a shell
#14 Quinoa is related to spinach. This is an annual plant; it’s covered with small pink flowers. It grows up to 1.5 meters and its seeds are edible
#15 Saffron threads are plucked from crocus flowers and dried. The flowers are hand-collected and this is one of the reasons why this spice is so expensive
#16 Caper shrubs are native to the Mediterranean area. The flowers buds are edible. They are picked before the plant begins to bloom
#17 Dactyls are fruit of date palm
#18 Cranberry belongs to the heather family. It grows on peat bogs and wetlands. Its red fruit is edible
#19 Pistachio nuts grow on trees. The trees yield them every two years
#20 Pepper belongs to climbing plants. It can bloom and yield fruit all year long. The spicy powder is made of its fruit
#21 Pomegranate fruit grows on low trees (3 – 5 meters). Its edible fruit is also referred to as Chinese apples
#22 Curcuma is a perennial with tubular bells. Its rhizomes are also edible.
