FFF750 - SUNFLOWER

The common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the production of cooking oil, as food for livestock, as bird food, and as plantings in domestic gardens for aesthetics. Wild plants are known for their multiple flower heads, whereas the domestic sunflower often possesses a single large flower head atop an unbranched stem.

The plant was first domesticated in the Americas. Sunflower seeds were brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, where, along with sunflower oil, they became a widespread cooking ingredient. With time, the bulk of industrial-scale production has shifted to Eastern Europe, and (as of 2020) Russia and Ukraine together produce over half of worldwide seed production. 

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FFF744 - BLUE LOTUS WATERLILY

Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea, is a water lily in the genus Nymphaea, a botanical variety of Nymphaea nouchali. It is an aquatic plant of freshwater lakes, pools and rivers, naturally found throughout most of the eastern half of Africa, as well as parts of southern Arabia, but has also been spread to other regions as an ornamental plant. It can tolerate the roots being in anoxic mud in nutritionally poor conditions, and can become a dominant plant in deeper water in such habitats. The underwater rhizomes are edible.

It features prominently in Egyptian mythology and art, symbolizing the sun and rebirth and has been found in pharaohs' tombs. It may have been used for aphrodisiac and religious purposes, including in rituals like Hathor's Festival of Drunkenness. Modern recreational use, primarily through drinking infusions or vaping, has been associated with toxicity, causing symptoms like sedation and perceptual disturbances. Recent research by UC Berkeley confirmed that the authentic Nymphaea caerulea is chemically distinct from many products sold online, which contain significantly less of the psychoactive alkaloid nuciferine and are misidentified water lilies.

Nymphaea caerulea, first described by Marie Jules César Savigny in 1798, was later classified as a variety of Nymphaea nouchali by Bernard Verdcourt in 1989. Though it is still most commonly referred to as a variety of Nymphaea nouchali, recent phylogenetic studies have problematized the taxonomy. When defined taxonomically as Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea, it is considered synonymous with Nymphaea capensis. When considered taxonomically as Nymphaea caerulea, it is now rare due to habitat loss from the Aswan Dam.

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FFF741 - STRAWBERRY FLOWER

Pink-flowering strawberry plants (primarily Fragaria x ananassa hybrids) are both ornamental and edible, producing sweet fruit alongside vibrant pink, rose, or magenta blooms. Popular cultivars like 'Florian Pink', 'Fragoo Pink', 'Lipstick', and 'Toscana' are ideal for hanging baskets and pots, growing 15-30cm tall, preferring full sun and well-drained soil. 

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FFF701 - VIOLA 'TIGER EYE'

Viola 'Yellow Tiger Eye' have golden yellow flowers, that are heavily striped with a dark centre around the eye. This striking variety can be grown in part shade to stretch stems for cut flowers, while also making a wonderful addition to the garden in mass plantings. Viola blooms are edible and add wonderful pops of colour to your dishes. they also press dry well for pressed flower art projects.

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FFF685 - AMARANTHUS

Amaranthus blitum, commonly called purple amaranth or Guernsey pigweed, is an annual plant species in the economically important plant family Amaranthaceae. It is an erect or semi-prostrate annual plant. The single or branched stem can grow to one metre tall. The green or purplish leaves are up to 10 cm long on stalks of a similar length and are arranged spirally. They are simple, roughly triangular in shape and have entire margins. The inflorescence is a spike with the tiny male and female flowers clustered together. The fruits are small globular capsules containing disc-shaped seeds.

Although not cultivated, this plant is gathered from the wild and eaten in many parts of the world. The Greeks refer to A. blitum var. silvestre as vlita (Modern Greek: βλίτα) and eat the leaves and the cooked tender shoots, served with olive oil, lemon and salt. In Lebanon (especially to the north) a side dish is made from the young shoots; they are cooked in olive oil, onion, chilli, and burghul, seasoned with salt and lemon, and eaten with pita.

The plant is is high in nutrients and antioxidants. It contains protein, fibre, minerals, and vitamins. The leaves contain about 3.88% protein, 1.1% fat, 9.38% carbohydrate, 3.2% ash, 323mg Ca, 8.3mg Fe, they are very rich in Vitamins A & C, rich in vitamin B1.

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FFF680 - ARTICHOKE FLOWERS

The artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus), also known by the names French artichoke, globe artichoke, and green artichoke in the United States, is a variety of a species of thistle cultivated as food. The edible portion of the plant consists of the flower buds before the flowers come into bloom.

The budding artichoke flower-head is a cluster of many budding small flowers (an inflorescence), together with many bracts, on an edible base. Once the buds bloom, the structure changes to a coarse, barely edible form. Another variety of the same species is the cardoon, a perennial plant native to the Mediterranean region. Both wild forms and cultivated varieties (cultivars) exist.

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FFF665 - JUDAS TREE

Cercis siliquastrum, commonly known as the Judas tree or Judas-tree, is a small deciduous tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae which is noted for its prolific display of deep pink flowers in spring. It is native to Southern Europe and Western Asia.

There is a myth that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from a tree of this species, causing its white flowers to turn red. This belief is related to the common name 'Judas tree', which is possibly a corrupted derivation from the French common name, Arbre de Judée, meaning 'tree of Judea', referring to the hilly regions of that country where the tree used to be common. Another possible source for the vernacular name is the fact that the flowers and seedpods can dangle directly from the trunk in a way reminiscent of Judas's possible method of suicide.

This species forms a small tree up to 12 m in height and 10 m in width. The deep pink flowers are produced on year-old or older growth, including the trunk, in spring. They have five free petals and fused sepals, a flower shape typical of much of the pea family.

The leaves appear shortly after the first flowers emerge. These are cordate with a blunt apex and occasionally have a shallow notch at the tip. The tree produces long flat pods that hang vertically. The flowers are edible and reportedly have a sweet and tart taste.

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FFF662 - PEACH BLOSSOM

The peach (Prunus persica) is a deciduous tree native to the region of Northwest China between the Tarim Basin and the north slopes of the Kunlun Mountains, where it was first domesticated and cultivated. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach or a nectarine. The specific name persica refers to its widespread cultivation in Persia (modern-day Iran), from where it was transplanted to Europe.

It belongs to the genus Prunus which includes the cherry, apricot, almond and plum, in the rose family, Rosaceae. The peach is classified with the almond in the subgenus Amygdalus, distinguished from the other subgenera by the corrugated seed shell. Due to their close relatedness, the inside of a peach stone tastes remarkably similar to almond, and peach stones are often used to make a cheap version of marzipan, known as persipan.

Peaches and nectarines are the same species, even though they are regarded commercially as different fruits. In contrast to peaches, whose fruits present the characteristic fuzz on the skin, nectarines are characterised by the absence of fruit-skin trichomes (fuzzless fruit); it is thought that a mutation in a single gene (MYB25) is responsible for the hair or no-hair difference between the two. China produced 58% of the world's total peaches and nectarines in 2016.

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FFF656 - ALMOND BLOSSOM

The almond (Prunus dulcis, syn. Prunus amygdalus) is a species of tree in the Rosaceae family, native to the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and North Africa. "Almond" is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus Prunus, it is classified with the peach in the subgenus Amygdalus, distinguished from the other subgenera by the corrugated shell (endocarp) surrounding the seed.

The fruit of the almond is a drupe, consisting of an outer hull and a hard shell with the seed, which is not a true nut, inside. Shelling almonds refers to removing the shell to reveal the seed. Almonds are sold shelled or unshelled. Blanched almonds are shelled almonds that have been treated with hot water to soften the seedcoat, which is then removed to reveal the white embryo.

The almond is a deciduous tree, growing 4–10 m in height, with a trunk of up to 30 cm  in diameter. The young twigs are green at first, becoming purplish where exposed to sunlight, then grey in their second year. The leaves are 5 -10 long, with a serrated margin and a 2.5 cm petiole.The flowers are white to pale pink, 3–5 cm diameter with five petals, produced singly or in pairs and appearing before the leaves in late winter to early spring.

Almond grows best in Mediterranean climates with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The optimal temperature for their growth is between 15 and 30 °C and the tree buds have a chilling requirement of 300 to 600 hours below 7.2 °C to break dormancy.  Almonds begin bearing an economic crop in the third year after planting. Trees reach full bearing five to six years after planting. The fruit matures in the autumn, 7–8 months after flowering.

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FFF650 - TREE DAHLIA

Dahlia imperialis or Bell tree dahlia is an 8-10 metre tall member of the Dahlia genus native to Mexico, Central America and Colombia. It is a plant of the uplands and mountains, occurring at elevations of 1,500–1,700 metres, and its leaves are used as a dietary supplement by the Q'eqchi' people of San Pedro Carchá in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.

It is a tuberous, herbaceous perennial, rapidly growing from the base after a dormant winter period, developing brittle, cane-like, 4-angled stems with swollen nodes and large tripinnate leaves, those near the ground soon being shed. The pendant or nodding flowerheads are 75-150mm across with ray florets lavender or mauvish-pink in colour.

This species is fast-growing, the growth spurt being linked to shorter daylight hours, and usually comes into flower in autumn before the first frost. Propagation is by seed or by stem cuttings of some 30 cm long having at least two nodes, laid horizontally below the soil. Some Dahlia species were brought from Mexico to Europe in the 16th century.

D. imperialis was first described in 1863 by Benedikt Roezl (1823–1885), the great Czech orchid collector and traveller, who, ten years later in 1872–73, went on his odyssey through the Americas.

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FFF635 - AMARANTH FLOWER

Amaranthus tricolor, known as edible amaranth, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Amaranthus, part of the family Amaranthaceae. The plant is often cultivated for ornamental and culinary purposes. It is known as bireum in Korea; tampala, tandaljo, or tandalja bhaji in India; callaloo in the Caribbean; and Joseph's coat in other areas, in reference to the Biblical story of Joseph and the coat of many colours.

Although it is native to South and South-East Asia, A. tricolor is one of several species of amaranth cultivated in warm regions across the world. Cultivars have striking yellow, red, and green foliage.

The leaves and stems may be eaten as a salad vegetable. In Africa, it is usually cooked as a leafy vegetable. In Mediterranean countries this amaranth and related species are cooked with other vegetables and served as a warm salad (see recipe). It is usually stir fried or steamed as a side dish in both China and Japan.

Amaranth seeds are also edible and useful information about their nutritive value can be found here.

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FFF663 - SACRED LOTUS

Nelumbo nucifera, also known as sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae.

Lotus plants are adapted to grow in the flood plains of slow-moving rivers and delta areas. Stands of lotus drop hundreds of thousands of seeds every year to the bottom of the pond. While some sprout immediately and most are eaten by wildlife, the remaining seeds can remain dormant for an extensive period of time as the pond silts in and dries out. During flood conditions, sediments containing these seeds are broken open, and the dormant seeds rehydrate and begin a new lotus colony.

Under favorable circumstances, the seeds of this aquatic perennial may remain viable for many years, with the oldest recorded lotus germination being from seeds 1,300 years old recovered from a dry lakebed in northeastern China. Therefore, the Chinese regard the plant as a symbol of longevity.

It has a very wide native distribution, ranging from central and northern India, through northern Indochina and East Asia. Today, the species also occurs in southern India, Sri Lanka, virtually all of Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and northern and eastern Australia, but this is probably the result of human translocations. It has a very long history (c. 3,000 years) of being cultivated for its edible seeds and edible leaves, and is commonly cultivated in water gardens. It is the national flower of India and Vietnam.

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FFF630 - SUNFLOWER

The common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a species of large annual forb of the genus Helianthus. It is commonly grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as bird food, in some industrial applications, and as an ornamental in domestic gardens. Wild H. annuus is a widely branched annual plant with many flower heads. The domestic sunflower, however, often possesses only a single large inflorescence (flower head) atop an unbranched stem.

The plant was first domesticated in the Americas. Sunflower seeds were brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, where, along with sunflower oil, they became a widespread cooking ingredient. With time, the bulk of industrial-scale production has shifted to Eastern Europe, and (as of 2020) Russia and Ukraine together produce over half of worldwide seed production.

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FFF621 - KIWI FRUIT FLOWER

Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi in North American, British and continental European English) or Chinese gooseberry is the edible berry of several species of woody vines in the genus Actinidia. The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa 'Hayward') is oval, about the size of a large hen's egg: 5–8 centimetres in length and 4.5–5.5 cm in diameter. It has a thin, fuzzy, fibrous, tart but edible light brown skin and light green or golden flesh with rows of tiny, black, edible seeds. The fruit has a soft texture with a sweet and unique flavour.

Kiwifruit is native to central and eastern China. The first recorded description of the kiwifruit dates to the 12th century during the Song dynasty. In the early 20th century, cultivation of kiwifruit spread from China to New Zealand, where the first commercial plantings occurred. The fruit became popular with British and American servicemen stationed in New Zealand during World War II, and later became commonly exported, first to Great Britain and then to California in the 1960s.

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FFF615 - GRAPEFRUIT FLOWERS

The grapefruit (Citrus × aurantium f. aurantium, Syn: Citrus × paradisi) is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in colour from pale yellow to dark pink/red.

Grapefruit is a citrus hybrid that originated in Barbados in the 18th century. It is an accidental cross between the sweet orange (C. × sinensis) and the pomelo or shaddock (C. maxima), both of which were introduced from Asia in the 17th century. It has also been called the forbidden fruit. In the past it was referred to as the pomelo, but that term is now mostly used as the common name for Citrus maxima.

In 2021, world production of grapefruits (combined with pomelos) was 9.6 million tonnes, with China contributing 54% of the total.

The evergreen grapefruit trees usually grow to around 5–6 m tall, although they may reach 13–15 m. The leaves are long (up to 15 cm), thin, glossy, and dark green. They produce 5 cm white four-petaled flowers. The fruit is yellow-orange skinned and generally an oblate spheroid in shape; it ranges in diameter from 10 to 15 cm. Its flesh is segmented and acidic, varying in colour depending on the cultivars, which include white, pink, and red pulps of varying sweetness (generally, the redder varieties are the sweetest).

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FFF609 - MONSTERA

Monstera deliciosa, the Swiss cheese plant or split-leaf philodendron is a species of flowering plant native to tropical forests of southern Mexico, south to Panama. It has been introduced to many tropical areas, and has become a mildly invasive species in Hawaii, Seychelles, Ascension Island and the Society Islands. It is very widely grown in temperate zones as a houseplant.

The common name "Swiss cheese plant" is also used for the related species from the same genus, Monstera adansonii. The common name "split-leaf philodendron" is also used for the species Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum, although neither species are in the genus Philodendron.

The specific epithet deliciosa means "delicious", referring to the edible fruit. The genus Monstera is named from the Latin word for "monstrous" or "abnormal", and refers to the unusual leaves with natural holes that members of the genus have. Its popular name as a houseplant of "Swiss cheese plant", or just "cheese plant", is commonly stated to refer to the "eyes" or holes which develop in its leaves similar to the holes in some Swiss-type cheeses such as Emmental cheese.

The fruit of Monstera deliciosa is up to 25 cm long and 3–5 cm diameter, and it looks like a green ear of maize covered with hexagonal scales. As the fruit ripens, these scales or platelets fall off the fruit, releasing a strong and sweet scent. The smell has been compared to a combination of pineapples and bananas. The fruit is edible and safe for humans.

This flower was picked from a plant growing in our garden. Although this plant flowers, our climate is not hot enough for the fruit to ripen. It does make for an unusual cut flower, though!

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FFF607 - CHAMOMILE

Chamomile (or camomile) is the common name for several daisy-like plants of the family Asteraceae that are often used to make herbal infusions to serve various medicinal purposes. Popular uses of chamomile preparations include treating hay fever, inflammation, muscle spasms, menstrual disorders, insomnia, ulcers, gastrointestinal disorders, and haemorrhoids. Chamomile tea is also used to treat skin conditions such as eczema, chickenpox and psoriasis.

The word ‘chamomile’ derives, via French and Latin, from Greek χαμαίμηλον (khamaimēlon), i.e. ‘earth apple’, from χαμαί (khamai) ‘on the ground’ and μῆλον (mēlon) ‘apple’. The more common British spelling ‘camomile’, is the older one in English, while the spelling ‘chamomile’ corresponds to the Latin and Greek source.

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FFF606 - CHICORY

Common chicory, Cichorium intybus, is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Various varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons (blanched buds), or for roots (var. sativum), which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and additive. It is also grown as a forage crop for livestock.

It lives as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and in North America and Australia, where it has become naturalised. "Chicory" is also the common name in the United States for curly endive (Cichorium endivia); these two closely related species are often confused.

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FFF600 - CLOVE FLOWERS

Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, Syzygium aromaticum. They are native to the Maluku Islands (Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavouring, or fragrance in consumer products, such as toothpaste, soaps, or cosmetics. Cloves are available throughout the year owing to different harvest seasons across various countries.

The clove tree is an evergreen that grows up to 8–12 metres tall, with large leaves and crimson flowers grouped in terminal clusters. The flower buds initially have a pale hue, gradually turn green, then transition to a bright red when ready for harvest. Cloves are harvested at 1.5–2 centimetres long, and consist of a long calyx that terminates in four spreading sepals, and four unopened petals that form a small central ball.

Clove stalks are slender stems of the inflorescence axis that show opposite decussate branching. Externally, they are brownish, rough, and irregularly wrinkled longitudinally with short fracture and dry, woody texture.

Mother cloves (anthophylli) are the ripe fruits of cloves that are ovoid, brown berries, unilocular and one-seeded. Blown cloves are expanded flowers from which both corollae and stamens have been detached. Exhausted cloves have most or all the oil removed by distillation. They yield no oil and are darker in colour.

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FFF599 - RUEFUL BEE

Ruta graveolens, commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of Ruta grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluish leaves, and sometimes for its tolerance of hot and dry soil conditions. It is also cultivated as a culinary herb, and to a lesser extent as an insect repellent and incense.

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