Artichokes grow on the thistle plant which has very long stems with large branches that arc out like a Christmas tree. Some varieties have long arching spiked leaves which makes them look like giant ferns. If they're not picked for eating they turn into beautiful purple flowers.
Avocados grow on evergreen trees. Evergreen means the tree doesn't shed its leaves in the autumn. Avocado trees need to grow in an area that has excellent drainage, porous soil and is sheltered from strong winds and frosts. They prefer a climate that is tropical - cool winters and hot humid summers.
The fruit of the cashew tree is a kidney shaped drupe that grows at the end of the cashew apple. First the drupe develops on the tree, and then it expands to become the cashew apple. Within the fruit is a seed, which is the cashew nut!
The peanut plant flowers above the ground, and fruits below the ground!
The strawberry plant is a small plant with a crown of dark green leaves each of which has three small leaflets with saw-like edges. Runners, or long stems, grow from the crown, which send down roots when they touch the ground and a new plant develops. It's white flowers are fertilised by bees and then produce strawberries. It is becoming very popular to grow strawberries hydroponically these days (that is grown in a nutrient solution rather than in soil).
Learn more about strawberries here
A common misconception is that quinoa is a grain, when if fact, the part of the quinoa plant that we eat is the actually the seed. In order to get the seed, the plant first needs to flower. This is what flowering quinoa looks like:
Lychees are berries and are produced on tropical evergreen trees which grow to 10-12 metres. The trees have a short trunk, low spreading branches and are quite attractive. Their shiny, leathery, green leaves are composed of several smaller long, thin leaflets which are grouped together in pairs. Long sprays of green-white to green-yellow flowers turn into bunches of fruit following fertilisation, but the trees need lots of water and a cold winter to do this.
The raspberry parent plant is small, deciduous, with slightly prickly, erect or arched stems (or canes) up to 1.2-1.6 metres long. The leaf consists of 3-5 small leaflets which are attached along the main leaf stem. Each leaf is green, oval with saw-like edges and a white downy underside.
