Friday, May 04, 2018

Fantastic flowers

quiz whiz 

1. How many species of flowering plants are there in the world?
A. 369
B. 3,690
C. 36,900
D. 369,000

2. What is the world’s largest flower?
A. Lotus
B. Rafflesia
C. Posidonia
D. Sunflower

3. Which of these is not a part of a flower?
A. Stamen
B. Pistil
C. Stylus
D. Ovary

4. Which flower is known as the King of Flowers?
A. Jasmine
B. Rose
C. Tulip
D. Peony

5. What is the national flower of Pakistan?
A. Jasmine
B. Rose
C. Tulip
D. Peony

6. Which of these is *not* one of the many names for the cornflower?
A. Bachelor’s button
B. Bluebell
C. Hurtsickle
D. Gogglebuster

7. Which of these flowers is not edible?
A. Zinnia
B. Hibiscus
C. Tulip
D. Buttercup

8. How many petals does a tulip typically have?
A. 1
B. 3
C. 6
D. 12

9. What does Prince Charles receive as payment of rent for his lands on the Isles of Scilly?
A. A single daffodil
B. A dozen carnations
C. A bunch of orchids
D. A bouquet of geraniums

10. Claude Monet famously created paintings of which flowers?
A. Irises
B. Sunflowers
C. Dahlias
D. Water Lilies

11. William Wordsworth’s well-known poem ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ was inspired by which flowers?
A. Gardenias
B. Daffodils
C. Daisies
D. Cosmos

12. In L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), the odour of which blossoms makes Dorothy sleepy?
A. Pansies
B. Peonies
C. Poppies
D. Petunias

*****

Answers:

1. D
There are estimated to be about 369,000 known flowering plant species in the world. Flowering plants make up the bulk of the world’s vegetation, and fall into two major groups: dicotyledons (which have two embryonic leaves in their seeds and their regular leaves have a network of veins, like roses and daisies, for example) and monocotyledons (which have a single seed leaf and their normal leaves mostly have parallel veins, like daffodils, tulips, and lilies).

2. B
The Rafflesia arnoldii – a parasitic flowering plant found in the rainforests of Indonesia – produces the world’s largest blooms. The flower can have a diameter of around 3 feet – the largest ever recorded is thought to be 3.4 feet – and can weigh up to 11 kilograms. It is one of the world’s rarest flowers, and also among the smelliest, with a repulsive odour similar to that of rotting flesh (a means of attracting insects for pollination) which has earned it the nickname “corpse flower”.

3. C
Flowers are the reproductive parts of the plant that produce fruits and seeds.
The stamens are the male parts that produce pollen.
The pistils (or carpels) are the female parts which include the ovary, style (not stylus), and stigma.

4. D
One of the longest-used flowers in Eastern culture, the beautiful peony is considered the King of Flowers, particularly in Asian countries like Japan and China.
The rose is considered the Queen of Flowers.

5. A
Jasminum officinale (or chambeli) is the national flower of Pakistan.
The lovely, white, fragrant jasmine is not only popular in our gardens but is also valued in several other regions around the world. Jasminum sambac (or motiya) is the national flower of Indonesia and Philippines, and is also a popular flower in Hawaii.

6. B
The cornflower – which is not, as its name might suggest, the flower of the corn plant, but the blossom of a beneficial weed in cornfields – is also known by several other names, including
bluecup, blue blob, blue bonnet, cornbottle, boutonierre flower, hurtsickle, and gogglebuster.
Bluebells, on the other hand, are blue bell-reminiscent flowers of the Hyacinthoides plants.

7. D
Despite its appetizing name, the buttercup is inedible. Buttercups are toxic to animals and are poisonous when eaten, although their acrid taste generally prevents that from happening.  Handling the plants can also cause skin issues.
Zinnias (as garnish), hibiscuses (in beverages and as garnish), and tulips (petals as garnish) are edible.

8. B
Tulips have three petals and three sepals, but since the sepals are very similar in size and shape to the petals, tulips appear to have six petals.

9. A
The heir apparent to the British throne, Prince Charles, is paid one daffodil per year as rent for his lands on the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall. The Prince’s Duchy of Cornwall estate leases over 100 acres of land on the islands of Bryher, St Mary’s, St Agnes, and St Martin’s for just a daffodil a year.

10. D
Oscar-Claude Monet’s (1840 – 1926) Water Lilies series – oil on canvas paintings that depict the artist’s flower garden at his home in Giverny – is one of the most famous painting series in the history of art. The father of French Impressionist painting began painting the water lilies in 1899 in a series that he worked on for the next 20 years of his life.

11. B
“I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils…”
English Romantic poet William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850) was inspired by an event in 1802 – in which Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy came across a "long belt" of daffodils – to write the poem at some point between 1804 and 1807. It was first published in 1807 in Poems in Two Volumes, and a revised version was published in 1815.

12. C
“They now came upon more and more of the big scarlet flowers until they found themselves in the midst of a great meadow carpeted with nothing but poppies. Now, in the magical Land of Oz, it is a well known fact that when there are many of these flowers together their odor and fragrance is so strong and so powerful, that anyone who breathes it in instantly begins to fall asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the deadly scent of the blossoms, they sleep on and on forever and ever until their dying day. But Dorothy, just a little girl from Kansas, did not know this, nor could she get away from the bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently as she walked on her eyes grew very heavy, and soon she felt she must sit down to rest and to even sleep.” – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Dorothy likewise falls asleep in a poppy field in the film adaptation(s) of the novel.

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News International - 4th May, 2018

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