01Plants
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Papyrus: before the sheet, a water-loving plant
Cyperus papyrus connects a recognisable botanical shape with a writing material: the crucial transformation begins inside the plant’s stem.
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Leaves, roots and small wonders. Getting to know the green world beyond the windowsill.
27 results
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Poinsettia: the red parts are not petals
The most striking parts of Euphorbia pulcherrima are modified leaves: to find its flowers, look closely at the centre.
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Banyan: roots can become columns
Ficus benghalensis spreads its crown with roots descending from branches: one tree can look like a small gathering of trunks.
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Cotton: the white tuft starts with a seed
Gossypium hirsutum reveals a surprising connection: its familiar fibre grows on seeds inside a fruit that eventually opens.
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A giant that belongs to the grass family
Gigantochloa verticillata has woody stems and pointed leaves: looking at bamboo teaches us to separate height from botanical relationships.
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Prickly pear: those broad pads are not leaves
A flat shape can fool the eye: this cactus helps us separate what a plant part looks like from its botanical name.
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Maidenhair fern: a plant that does not wait for flowers
This fern’s little green fans reveal another way to grow and reproduce: some of the clues are underneath its fronds.
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Lavender: one purple spike holds many little flowers
Lavandula angustifolia rewards a closer look: colour draws us in, while leaves, stems and clusters of flowers help describe the plant.
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Dandelion: a tiny flight full of empty space
A dandelion clock is not one seed: many tiny fruits travel with a crown of hairs that interacts with the air.
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Stone pine: the umbrella has needles too
A mature stone pine has a recognisable outline. Looking more closely means learning to notice small details as well.
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The coast redwood: even a giant needs its landscape
Its height is striking, but the useful discovery is the relationship between a tree, moisture and the forest around it.
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Tillandsia: the plant hanging its leaves in the air
It resembles a beard of moss, but this flowering plant uses branches for support and collects water across its surface.
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Drosera: when the dew is actually a trap
Sticky droplets sparkle on the leaves: this plant gains nutrients by catching small animals, using specialised leaves rather than a mouth.
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A sunflower changes as it grows
Observing a plant also means asking how it changes as it grows: a young bud and a mature head tell different stories.
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Victoria amazonica: a leaf with a structure underneath
This giant waterlily shows how a thin surface can be supported by a network of veins: a small piece of plant architecture.
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Strelitzia: that beak is part of a pollination system
Its outline resembles a bird, but the discovery is botanical: shapes and colours accompany an encounter between flower and pollinator.
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Lithops: a plant with windows on top
They resemble tiny stones, but their fleshy leaves reveal a remarkable arrangement: admitting light while staying close to the ground.
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Aloe polyphylla: reading a spiral, finding a mountain
The orderly rosette of this Lesotho species invites us to consider leaf shape, natural habitat and provenance together.
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Baobab: start the wonder with its leaves
The African baobab has finger-like leaflets and hanging flowers: looking closely takes us beyond the familiar postcard silhouette.
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Nelumbo nucifera, the leaf that lets mud slide away
The lotus effect begins with a microscopically uneven surface: droplets make little contact, adhere weakly and can carry dirt away.
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Pilea peperomioides, look beneath the leaf
Those round leaves have an unusual attachment: each stalk joins near the centre of the leaf’s lower surface.
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Oxalis triangularis folds up for the evening
Its leaves, each made of three triangular leaflets, change position at night: a small performance that requires no remote control.
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Welwitschia, two leaves for a lifetime
It looks like a tangle of ribbons, but Welwitschia mirabilis keeps two adult leaves, growing as their ends split and fray.
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Venus flytrap: a leaf waiting for confirmation
This theatrical carnivorous plant has traps made from leaves and a closing mechanism that responds to touches delivered close together.
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Mimosa pudica, the leaf that folds
With pink flowers and leaflets sensitive to touch, Mimosa pudica reveals a form of plant movement that also depends on water.
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Monstera deliciosa: the holes come as standard
The openings in mature leaves are part of this tropical climber’s growth: its leaf pattern changes as the plant develops.
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Ginkgo biloba: a little fan with a long history
Fan-shaped leaves and autumn gold make ginkgo easy to recognise. Its rarity in the wild is the real surprise.
Read the discoveryIllustrated reads with verifiable sources. Original illustrations made with AI assistance.