Mental Floss

PLANTS

You must be a lucky one of you find a four-leaf clover.

While the shamrock mainly has religious ties, the four-leaf clover—often mistaken for the same plant—is often associated with luck. We explain why.

A map of the 63 National Parks in the U.S.

From Acadia to Zion, the U.S. has some pretty majestic national parks. Here’s one fun fact about every single one—plus a map so you can see where they all are.

This flower arrangement LEGO set is made of 1161 pieces.

If every plant you touch dies, LEGO’s online flower arrangement workshop may be more your speed.

If you see frost, it's a sign to back off.

When it comes to cold-weather lawn care, this is one chore that can definitely wait until spring—with a couple of exceptions.

Mushroom Playing Keyboard

Discover how Bionic and the Wires are turning fungi into electronic musicians.

The corpse flower‘s name comes from its nasty smell.

Catch the blooming of Sydney‘s corpse flower without being exposed to its infamous odor.

We push the Manila envelope.

There’s a surprising connection between the capital of the Philippines and mailing important documents.

There‘s a time and place for black tea (left) and herbal tea (right).

“Caffeine-free tea” isn't actually tea at all.

Those little packets keep your flowers fresh.

Three ingredients in the “flower food” packet stapled to the cellophane around your bouquet can help the blooms stay vibrant.

Kiss your pets under some artificial mistletoe.

Traditional Christmas plants like poinsettias, holly, and mistletoe can be dangerous for pets.

Christmas trees are an essential part of the holiday.

Discover the origins of the Christmas tree tradition that brings joy to millions each season.

The squirting cucumber can blast its seeds dozens of feet from the parent plant. The stem and fruit of the plant have been colored green in this image.

The little gourd can shoot its seeds nearly 40 feet via "ballistic dispersal”—but until now, the mechanism behind the plant’s power and proliferation was poorly understood.

A classic Christmas scene.

There are Christmas tree farms scattered throughout the United States. Here’s which states produce the most of the holiday-favorite evergreen.

This scene depicts several Christmas traditions with long histories.

From expecting Santa to fill socks with gifts to eating cake that looks like tree bark, some holiday traditions are downright odd. But we can explain!

You can avoid a situation like this.

Pets are a welcome part of the holidays, but a little care is needed to make sure they don't have problems with your decorations.

We don’t recommend doing this.

Research (and lots of dry-heaving) has revealed why the flower reeks of weeks-old road kill.

Here are the differences between green onions or scallions (left) and chives (right).

One of these things is not like the others.

Cacti are not welcome in one German town.

The mayor in ‘Footloose’ banned dancing. The mayor of Plettenberg has banned cactus.

A black-throated green warbler perches on a funerary statue at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Three historic cemeteries, designed as refuges of the dead, are bringing their landscapes back to life for native plants and animals.

Giant sequoias are Earth’s most massive trees.

A local organization is aiming to fill Detroit’s vacant land with gigantic forests.

Gourds (left) and squash (right) are similar, but one shouldn’t be eaten.

Matters become more confusing when you add pumpkins to the mix.

More people get to witness Virginia’s beauty in fall.

Fall just got more colorful for colorblind visitors to Virginia’s state parks.

They may look weird, but they are perfectly fine to eat.

Some gourds are bred to have a bumpy appearance.

Lettuce has never looked so striking.

Golden lettuce isn’t just pretty—it’s good for you, too.