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We are all citizens of the world, we all know about the best Japanese street food and how to make an avocado rose, but a few fundamentals seem to have got lost along the way, like: do peanuts grow on trees? And that's just the start.

Unless expert, most of us remain oblivious as to how many of the products that arrive on our table grow in strange and unusual ways.

Here's a look at some of the most unusual ways in which some of our beloved or common legumes, fruits and vegetables grow.

1. Peanuts – growing underground



Photo: © www.giardinaggio.it

Our favourite bar snack is surprisingly not a nut at all, but a legume, and grows underground. Try growing them at home and you'll find out how easy it is.

2. Cashew Nuts – grow on trees as part of a fruit



Photo: © Wikipedia

And if you ever thought that cashews and peanuts were similar, it's not the case at all: technically cashews are the seeds of the cashew “apple.”

3. Pistachios – seeds that grow on trees



And the pistachio, related to the cashew, is actually a culinary nut and the elongated seed of the fruit that grows on trees.

4. Cinnamon comes from tree bark



Photo: © Giardinaggio.it

The warm spice that is synoymous with winter comes from the bark of an evergreen tree. An unusual feature compared to other spices of this type that are typically derived from fruits or seeds.

5. Papaya grow like bananas



Photo: © https: //www.flickr.com/photos/the10101/

Papaya grow from the trunk of tropical trees. Who would have thought it?

6. Asparagus spears grow from the ground



Photo: © www.homelife.com.au

Who knows where we thought asparagus comes from: seeing the beautifully arranged bunches at the supermarket we probably imagined some kind of miracle, and yet here the spears stand proud and sharp, poking out of the ground.

7. Chickpeas are more beautiful in their plant form



Photo: ©https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

They almost seem to be peaches, yet these small fuzzy shells hide the protein–packed legume perfect for making hummus: the chickpea.

8. Behold the beauty of Amaranth



Photo: © https : //www.flickr.com/photos/orgazmika/

Amaranth acts like a grain, but is actually a seed from the amaranth plant, with flowers so beautiful they would make a perfect addition to any terrace.

9. Brussel Sprouts grow in clusters



Photo: © https://www.flickr.com/photos/vaquey/6929819167/

The much maligned Brussels sprout is not actually a small cabbage, but the auxillary bud of a particular variety of cabbage.

10. Capers are in fact flower buds



Capers are the homonymous plant buds that give life to beautiful flowers if not picked before flowering.





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