Kew Gardens

Did you know that saguaro cacti can grow over 15 metres tall and live for over 100 years?! These towering giants can be found in the deserts of south-western United States and north Mexico. Have you seen one before? 🌵

NEW to science! A palm that flowers and fruits entirely underground - Pinanga subterranea Why adopt such a strange and rare life strategy? How does it pollinate? New species research raises many questions 🔎 👉🏽 https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/the-palm-that-flowers-underground

We're taking a moment to appreciate the fantastic display of summer colour along the Palm House Parterre 🌼

Plant power couple 💜💛 Goldenrod (Solidago 'Goldenmosa) and Aster (Aster x frikartii 'Monch') are a classic combination and its easy to see why with their striking contrast of colour and texture. 📍 Agius Evolution Garden

Until the 17th century, the word apple was used in English to refer to every fruit that wasn’t a berry, including dates (fingeræppla), bananas (appel of paradis) and cucumbers (eorþæppla, meaning ‘earth-apple’) 🍎 Find out more about this humble fruit: https://www.kew.org/plants/apple

When you produce the biggest flower in the world, you haven’t got time for leaves. Or stems. Or a root system. Also, you steal all your nutrients from the vine you live inside. (Rafflesia arnoldi)

Some (plants) like it hot 🌼🌡️ Amorphophallus species like A.longituberosus can heat themselves to a whopping 21.7c above the surrounding air temperature. New research and thermal imagery examine the mysteries of this unusual power 👇 https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/hot-or-not-plant-heat-production

Is it real or is it AI? 🧐

This one is for our thread lovers. Did you know that this plant, the Fullers Teasel, was once an essential part of woollen cloth manufacture? The soft bristles from the seed head were used on woven cloth as part of a weavers process, to raise the nap of the wool before being trimmed evenly. Who’d have thought? 🧶

Can you guess what seed this is? 👀 Hint: This wild crop species is stored in our Millennium Seed Bank, and it's cultivated cousins are often roasted, boiled and blitzed into smoothies.

Did you know bonsai trees like to go on holiday? 🏖️ An unhappy bonsai could be a sign of pests or underwatering, so sometimes they need a break. A short stay (up to a couple of years) in a larger pot can mean a stronger, healthier bonsai is happy to return to its original pot.

Happy Friday! This blue agave doesn’t just look impressive, it also makes a mean Margarita, a lovely Long Island iced tea, and a tasty tequila sunrise. 🍹 https://www.kew.org/plants/blue-agave