Lean, Green, and Making the Scene(ry) - TT's Top 50 Plants

[Kirin]

#46 (tie)
Begonia​

Species: Begonia var
Habitat: native to moist tropical and subtropical climates worldwide
Fun stat: one of the largest genera of flowering plants, containing over 2000 speicies

Points: 47, Votes: 2, Highest: Mrs Kirin

Begonias are a set of tropical shrubs that might not be very notable if it weren't for the fact that their huge variety of flower and leaf colors and shapes have made them extremely popular as indoor and outdoor garden plants, and the fact that different species, surprisingly even ones originating on different continents, can often successfully be cross-bred has led to an incalculable number of varieties. They're also easy to propagate from stem cuttings or sometimes even just a leaf cutting.

Most begonia leaves are asymmetric and multi-colored, leading to striking varieties like the angel-wing, dragon-wing, and nautilus-leaf. Begonia flowers technically have no petals, just colorful sepals, and each plant grows separate male and female flowers for pollination.

Dubiously fun fact: The cultivar 'Kimjongilia' is a floral emblem of North Korea.

 

[Patrick]

And you don't even have to walk them!

 

[Violentvixen]

huge variety of flower and leaf colors and shapes

Dang you aren't kidding, I've seen many houseplants like what you showed in the header image and had no idea they were all the same.

 

[Purple]

BLACKBERRY - 2 votes - 41 points
RASPBERRY - 2 votes - 29 points (one vote for Black Raspberry)

Wait are blackberries and back raspberries not the same thing?

 

[SabreCat]

Wait are blackberries and back raspberries not the same thing?

Indeed not! And that surprised me too, when I learned the bramble in my yard was technically a black raspberry and not a blackberry. The taxonomy is based on the structure of the fruit: raspberries have a hollow center, blackberries don't.

 

[Kirin]

# Honorable Mention
Passionfruit​

I'm throwing in a few extra weekend entries for some plants that had a #1 vote but no others.
Today's weekend honorable mention comes courtesy of @Mogri :

Like the lemon, the passion fruit is too tart to eat on its own. Like the pomegranate, the fruit of the passion fruit is clustered around the seeds, making it unnecessarily troublesome to consume. That anyone bothers with the passion fruit is a testament to how incredibly delicious it is.

And it really is delicious. In most of the world, unfortunately, passion fruit is hard to come by, and any passion fruit products you can find have been overloaded with added sugars, which mask the fruit's flavor. Do yourself a favor and track down something passion fruit that hasn't overdosed on sweeteners.

It's family also has some of the coolest flowers around, dang.

 

[Kirin]

One more quick weekend post because my wife was disappointed with the Begonia pic and went and spent like over an hour while I was still asleep this morning putting together all these collages of the crazy, gorgeous varieties it comes in:

 

[Violentvixen]

One more quick weekend post because my wife was disappointed with the Begonia pic and went and spent like over an hour while I was still asleep this morning putting together all these collages of the crazy, gorgeous varieties it comes in:

Daaaaaang. Tell your wife thank you, a lot of these these are satisfying the Golden Ratio section of my brain so very much.

 

[Issun]

Yes, many thanks to Mrs. Kirin!

 

[SabreCat]

Pardon a digression to fix my ignorance--what's the votes : points formula? I had assumed it was just the reverse of the person's ranking, like a #1 getting 25 points, but clearly that can't be the case if a singleton vote for Elderberry landed it with 33 points.

 

[Issun]

Pardon a digression to fix my ignorance--what's the votes : points formula? I had assumed it was just the reverse of the person's ranking, like a #1 getting 25 points, but clearly that can't be the case if a singleton vote for Elderberry landed it with 33 points.

#1 = 35 points
#25 = 11 points

 

[Kirin]

Yeah, Issun’s got it. We started out with the simpler 25-1 points, but the shift gives some additional weight to “number of people who voted for this” which we decided we liked years ago. Though ultimately it’s up to whoever’s running.

 

[Kirin]

#45
Oak​

Species: Quercus var.
Habitat: widely distributed in the northern hemisphere
Fun fact: the word "cork" derives from Quercus

Points: 48, Votes: 2, Highest: SabreCat

The Oak genus includes around 500 species of sturdy hardwood trees and shrubs, and are an important species in ecosystems ranging from semi-deserts to subtropical forests. They produce strong timber with numerous uses in construction and crafts, and a few have spongey bark used for cork. Most wine barrels are made of oak, and also used to age sherry, whiskey, and beer, imparting delicate flavors from the wood. Oaks are often seen as a symbol of strength, and feature in flags and heraldry of many countries.

Large species of oak can regularly live for up to 600 years, and reach as much as 13 feet in diameter and 145 feet in height; one oak tree in Bulgaria has an estimated age of 1637 years. They're ecologically important to numerous other species - truffles and other fungi grow symbiotically with oak trees, and they support over 950 different species of caterpillars. Many birds and mammals, especially jays and squirrels, feed on oak acorns.

 

[SabreCat]

Another one I ranked highly because of how it figures in my memory. My parents' house had an enormous oak in the front yard and another in the back, and they gave shade to most of my childhood funtimes. They look so majestic! I can hardly bear to cut them down in Valheim, hah.

 

[Torzelbaum]

I had oaks on my list at #22. I picked them for a variety of reasons including the fact that the white oak (Quercus alba) the state tree of Illinois.

Oaks - they're good wood, Brant.

I didn't pick begonias because I did not know about their multi-colored (and sometimes fractal) splendor. I feel like I have missed out but I'm glad I was made aware of that.

 

[Kirin]

#43 (tie)
Pepper​

Species: Family Piperaceae - Piper nigrum (Black Pepper) ; Genus Capsicum - Capsicum anuum (Shishito Pepper)
Habitat: widly cultivated in sunny climes
AKA: Piper: Black, Long Pepper, Betel ; Capsicum: Chili, Bell Pepper, Paprika
Fun fact: peppers and peppers are unrelated, whoops

Points: 50, Votes: 2, Highest: Torzelbaum

So I gotta admit a slight goof here, but I'm not rearranging the list at this point. What happened here is that we had a vote for Black Pepper and a vote of Shishito Pepper and they got grouped together on the spreadsheet, but... I'll just let wikipedia say it:

The name "pepper" comes from the similarity of piquance (spiciness or "heat") of the flavor to that of black pepper, Piper nigrum,[dubious – discuss] although there is no botanical relationship with it or with Sichuan pepper.

Welp. This entry is for spicy things that we happened to give the same name.

Both black peppers and capsicum peppers obviously have innumerable culinary uses worldwide and are a key flavor in many national cuisines. Calling back to last week's discussion, the fruit-shaped Bell and Chili peppers of Capsicum are actually technically berries, while the small, round peppercorns of of Piper are technically the seeds of tiny drupes or stonefruit, like a peach.

One could go on about Scoville units and such, but this entry accidentally got very broad, so feel free to discuss your favorite hot and spicy plants!

 

[Violentvixen]

Oh hey, shishito peppers was me! They aren't spicy at all but fantastic to grill/roast as a side dish.

 

[Kirin]

#43 (tie)
Pecan​

Species: Carya illinoinensis
Habitat: native to the Southern US and Northern Mexico
AKA: it's always pecan, but nobody can agree how to pronounce it
Fun stat: the state nut of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Texas and Louisiana, and the state tree of Texas

Points: 50, Votes: 2, Highest: Lady

Scientific categorization strikes again - the Pecan is technically not a nut, but part of a stone-fruit. But culinarily they're a tasty nut, edible raw or roasted and often used in sweet desserts such as pecan pie and praline candy.

The pecan is also another lovely deciduous tree which often grows to more than 100 feet in height. Its lumber is used in furniture and flooring, and the wood imparts nutty and fruity flavors when used to smoke meats.

Pecans were eaten by Native Americans long before European settlement and are notable for remaining edible for a relatively long period of time on the ground after falling from the tree. They were found by Spanish colonists who, delightfully, called them nuez de la arruga, which roughly translates to "wrinkle nut". Pecans ended up being grown in orchards in the American colonies, including in Monticello and Mount Vernon.

 

[Falselogic]

Pecans are S Tier nuts. The best.

 

[Violentvixen]

Well dang I apparently completely forgot nuts existed and didn't put any on my list.

 

[Issun]

Pecan pie is not my favorite pie, but when I have a slice with a cup of coffee after a holiday dinner it is very nice.

Turtles are one of the greatest candies ever made.

 

[Kirin]

#38 (tie)
Toad​

Species: Amanita Sapiens?
Habitat: Mushroom Kingdom
AKA: Kinopio, Mushroom Retainer, Captain Toad

Points: 52, Votes: 2, Highest: Adrenaline

... is Toad a vegetable? While one might be led to think he's just some dude wearing a mushroom-shaped hat (and indeed he was portrayed that way in the non-canon Super Show), apparently the official Nintendo position as of Odyssey is that the mushroom on top is indeed part of his head. On top of that in the early Japanese games they were referred to literally as "Mushroom People", which sounds in line with other sentient plant-based species. So I guess we're allowing it!

Toads make up the main population of the Mushroom Kingdom, with elite Retainers serving the Princess directly as her bodyguards and staff. Most Toads are a bit timid but fiercely loyal, and will do their best to help out any heroes near by, though a few delve into heroics on their own. Despite their small stature Toads are generally quite strong and fast, though their jumping ability is lacking. Toads may be capable of emitting spores, though thus far this has only been documented during fighting tournaments and tennis matches for some reason.

Incidentally, we also had one vote for the Fly Agaric mushroom, Amanita muscaria, which is the closest real-world relative of both Toad and the Super Mushroom.

 

[Adrenaline]

I specifically voted for the best Toad, Captain Toad. He accepts the award on behalf of the species

 

[Kirin]

#38 (tie)
Cinnamon​

Species: Cinnamomum var
Habitat: native to the Himalayas and other mountainous regions of China and Southeast Asia
AKA: Cassia, Canella
Fun stat: The word cinnamon derives all the way back to Phoenecian

Points: 52, Votes: 2, Highest: ViolentVixen

The Cinnamon group of plants are trees in the laurel family with aromatic bark. Apparently "true cinnamon" is C.verum or Ceylon Cinnamon from Sri Lanka, but most that you'll find on store shelves comes from a few other species originating in Indonesia, China, and Vietnam. Camphor also comes from a tree in this genus. The aroma and flavor of cinnamon come from an organic compound called, unsurprisingly, Cinnamaldehyde.

Cinnamon has been used as a spice for basically all of recorded history, being imported into ancient Egypt as far back as 2000 BC, where it was sometimes used as an embalming ingredient. Its sources were a closely guarded secret of the spice trade and it was rare and valuable enough to be used as gifts to royalty and offerings to gods. Apparently a common story was that in a far off land, giant "cinnamon birds" harvested it from unknown fields and used it to line their nest, from which traders stole it at great personal peril. Cinnamon was still an important part of the spice trade when it was disrupted by the rise of the Ottoman Empire, leading to the European powers searching for other routes to the Orient and ushering in the age of European exploration and colonization. Eventually the true source on the island of Sri Lanka was captured by the Dutch, and cinnamon was monopolized by the notorious Dutch East India Company. The effects on history of a handful of aromatic plants is pretty astounding, really.

 

[Violentvixen]

Apparently a common story was that in a far off land, giant "cinnamon birds" harvested it from unknown fields and used it to line their nest, from which traders stole it at great personal peril.

This is great.

I remember the Cinnamon Challenge going around when I was in grad school and happy to say I was smart enough to nope right out of that. Had several friends who hadn't realized just how much cinnamon dries things out and were miserable for hours, thankfully no one needed to go to the hospital.

 

[Issun]

Tell a mycologist that mushrooms are plants. I dare you.

 

[Kirin]

#38 (tie)
Basil​

Species: Ocimum basilicum
Habitat: native to India and other tropical regions from Africa to East Asia
Fun stat: sometimes referred to in French as "l'herbe royale" (cheese optional)

Points: 52, Votes: 2, Highest: Lady

Basil is a tender shrub and an herb used in cuisines worldwide. The canonical cultivar is Genovese Basil also known as sweet basil, but other varieties include Thai Basil, Cinnamon Basil, Dark Opal Basil, Globe Basil, and the delightfully-named Mrs. Burns' Lemon Basil (though the more commonly known lemon basil is actually a hybrid between this species and another in the same genus). The distinct scents of the leaves come from an array of volatile aromatic compounds including linalool, estragole, and eugenol among others.

Basil leaves are usually used fresh, and added last when used in cooked dishes as prolonged cooking can destroy the flavor. It is of course the main ingredient in pesto sauce, and often used in soups and stews. Lemon basil is widely used in indonesia, and Thai basil is prominent in red and green Thai curries. Basil essential oils are also an insecticide and insect repellant, being especially toxic to mosquitos, and inhibit the growth of many bacteria and fungi.

The ancient Egyptians and Greeks believed basil would open the gates of heaven, and many Orthodox churches still use it in conjunction with holy water for rituals.

 

[Kirin]

Tell a mycologist that mushrooms are plants. I dare you.

Obviously they’re fungi, but we decided to include those in this list under the “not animal or mineral” rubric.

 

[RT-55J]

Basil is fun for being one of the few good plant names for boys.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Basil is fun for being one of the few good plant names for boys.

Yes but I think that only applies if you're British.