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Poisonous aloe species are far more common than most people expect, because the aloe family is large and only a few of its members are safe to use. Aloe vera is a single species, but it has several hundred relatives across Africa, Arabia and Madagascar. Many of them look alike, and people often call every … Read more
Palm trees that produce fruit include some of the most important food plants on Earth. The palm family has about 2,600 species, and nearly all of them bear fruit of some kind. Only a few dozen are eaten by people, but those few feed hundreds of millions. Most palm fruits are built the same way, … Read more
Edible palm fruits range from the familiar coconut and date to scaly, starchy and jelly-like fruits rarely seen outside the tropics. The palm family has about 2,600 species, but people regularly eat the fruit of only a few dozen. Those few are staple foods for hundreds of millions of people. Most palm fruits share one … Read more
The types of palm fruits are more varied than the two most people know, the coconut and the date. The palm family contains about 2,600 species, and almost every one bears fruit. Those fruits range from pea-sized berries to nuts weighing several pounds. Botanically, most palm fruits are built alike. Each has an outer skin, … Read more
The many types of coconuts all belong to a single species, the coconut palm. The fruit is not a true nut but a drupe, with a skin, a fibrous husk and a hard shell around the seed. World production reached about 65.5 million tonnes in 2024, and Indonesia, India and the Philippines grew 73% of … Read more
Cold-hardy grape varieties have made it possible to grow wine and table grapes in places where vineyards once seemed out of the question. Grapes are among the world’s most widely grown fruits, with about 72.5 million tonnes harvested in 2023. They are eaten fresh, dried into raisins, pressed for juice and fermented into wine. China … Read more
Cold hardy citrus fruit trees make it possible to pick oranges, mandarins and lemons far north of the traditional groves. Citrus trees are evergreens that trace their origin to the foothills of the Himalayas. Most are damaged when temperatures fall into the mid-20s, and lemons, limes and citrons are hurt even sooner. Citrus is one … Read more
Extremely cold hardy perennials are the backbone of gardens in places where winter lows reach -30°F, -40°F or worse. A perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. Most garden perennials are herbaceous, which means the top dies back each fall while the roots and crown survive underground. Annuals must be replanted … Read more
Cold-hardy bamboo varieties can survive winters well below zero, which surprises people who think of bamboo as a tropical plant. Bamboo is a woody grass, and roughly 1,500 kinds grow around the world. They range from ground covers a foot high to timber giants taller than a five-story building. Bamboos fall into two groups according … Read more
Cold hardy cactus varieties prove that these plants are not limited to hot deserts. The cactus family contains roughly 1,600 to 2,000 species, nearly all native to the Americas. Their natural range runs from Patagonia in the south to the Canadian prairies in the north. Every cactus has a feature found in no other plant … Read more