Biology

The Most: Related to Plants

1. Commonest grass	*Cynodon dactylon (doob), Gramineae*
2. Deadliest plant	*Ricinus communis has seeds rich in poison, ?ricin? which is about 6000 times more poisonous than cyanide and 12,000 times more poisonous than rattle snake venom.*
3. Deepest Roots	*A Wild Fig tree at Echo Caves, near Ohrigstad, Mpumalanga, South Africa has roots reaching 400 feet making it the deepest a tree?s roots have penetrated.*
4. Densest root	*Secale cereale (Rye): Graminae*
5. Fastest growing flowering plant	*Tropical species of bamboo reach 100 ft just in 3 months.*
6. Fastest growing non-flowering plant	*The brown alga Pacific giant kelp or Macrocystis pyrifera grows 18 inches per day*
7. Fastest Growing Tree	*In 1974, it was noted that an Albizzia falcata in Sabah, Malaysia had grown 35 feet and 3 inches in 13 months: an approximate of 1.1 inches per day.*
8. Fastest reproducing flower plant	*Wolffia microscopica reproduces vegetatively just within 30 hrs.*
9. Fastest trapdoor on a plant	*Bladderwort, Utricularia vulgaris, trapping process occurs with about 1/60 of a second roughly the speed of a daylight camera shutter setting*
10. Flowering plants at highest altitude	*Ermaria and Ranunculus lobatus (21,000 ft)*
11. Greatest Base Diameter	Waterfall Tree - Alder Creek Grove - 57 feet (17 m) - tree with enormous basal buttress on very steep ground. Tunnel Tree - Atwell Mill Grove - 57 feet (17 m) - tree with a huge flared base, that has burned all the way through
12. Greatest Girth	*In the late 18th century a European Chestnut known as the Tree of the Hundred Horses on Mount Etna in Sicily, in Italy had a circumference of 190 feet. It has since separated into three parts.*
13. Greatest Mean Diameter at Breast Height	General Grant - Grant Grove - 29.0 feet (8.8 m)
14. Hardest and heaviest medicinal wood	*Lignum iron wood tree, Guaiacum officinale produce produces with specific gravity of 1.37. Lignum or ?wood of life? gets its name from the medicinal properties of sweet smelling resin.*
15. Heaviest wood (India)	*Acacia sundra, Hardwichia birata*
16. Heaviest wood of world	*Guaicum officinale*
17. Highest calorific value	*Persea americana (Lauraceae); 741 calories per pound.*
18. Highest yielding cereal (grain) crop	*Maize (Zea mays)*
19. Inflorescence with high temperature	*Lysichiton kamtschutkensis*
20. Largest acellular plant (or unicellular)	*Acetabularia (green marine alga; 10 cm long)*
21. Largest algae	*Macrocystis perifera*
22. Largest amount of protein	*Soyabean*
23. Largest and widest cultivated crop	*Rice (Oryza sativa)*
24. Largest Angiosperm family	*Compositae*
25. Largest angiospermic parasite	*Santalum (Sandal wood)*
26. Largest archegonium	*In bryophyte (mosses)*
27. Largest bamboo	*Dendrocalamus giganteus*
28. Largest Banyan tree	*In Indian Botanical Garden, Howrah. (more than 200 yrs old; circumference of crown exceeds 400 m; It has more than 1600 prop roots)*
29. Largest bean	*Woody vines, lianas or monkey ladder or ?escalera de mono? (in Costa Rica language), Entida gigas has 5 ft long pods. A pea pod looks like miniature when compared to it.*
30. Largest bryophyte	*Dawsonia (70 cm), Fontinalis (Brook moss)*
31. Largest bud	*Cabbage*
32. Largest cactus	*Cereus giganteus*
33. Largest chromosome	*Trillium govanianum (30 µm)*
34. Largest cotyledons	*Capsela bursa pustoris (Shepherd?s purse)*
35. Largest diameter of a plant	*Cestanea sativa (167 ft, tree of hundred horses), Taxodium mucronatum (100-125 ft).*
36. Largest divided leaves	*African palm, Raphia regalis has pinnate leaves up to 80 ft long*
37. Largest egg	*Cycas*
38. Largest flower	*Rafflesia arnoldi or Devil?s goblet (total root parasite; 1m diameter, 15 kg)*
39. Largest flower of India	*Sapria (total root parasite)*
40. Largest flower orchid	*Phagmipedium cauclatum*
41. Largest flying seed	*Whirling nut, Gyrocarpus*
42. Largest fruit	*Jackfruit,* *Lodoicea maldivica (Double coconut)*
43. Largest fungi	*Ganoderma (wood fungus)*
44. Largest gametophytic plant	*Dawsonia (moss)*
45. Largest Girth	Waterfall Tree - Alder Creek Grove - 155 feet (47 m) - tree with enormous basal buttress on very steep ground
46. Largest grass	*Bamboo (Bambusa)*
47. Largest growing tree	*Albizia falcate*
48. Largest herb (herbaceous tree)	*Plantain*
49. Largest herbaceous fruit	*Giant pumpkin, Cucurbita maxima reported from Pennsylvania weighed 1337 pounds.*
50. Largest hitchhiking fruit (cling seed)	*Proboscidea parviflora where each capsule fruit releases 40 black seeds. Each seed is about 38 cm long and bear sharp claws called ?devil?s claws or elephant tusks.*
51. Largest inflorescence	*Amorphophallus titanium, Agave (12 m). Puya raimondii has about 30 ft tall inflorescence bearing about 8000 white blossoms.*
52. Largest leaf (in diameter)	*Victoria amazonica (V. regia or amazon lily; 5-6 ft diameter)*
53. Largest Limb	Arm Tree - Atwell Mill, East Fork Grove - 12.8 feet (3.9 m) in diameter
54. Largest number of flowers	*Talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera is about 10 m tall with millions of flowers per inflorescence.*
55. Largest orchid	*Grammatophyllum speciosum*
56. Largest ovule	*Cycas thourasii*
57. Largest pollen grain (in diameter)	*Mirabilis (4?O? clock plant); 250 µm in diameter*
58. Largest pteridophyte	*Alsophila, Cyathea (Tree ferna)*
59. Largest seed	*Lodoicea maldivica or double coconut (native of Seychelles). Single seed 12 inch (30 cm) long weighing 18 kg.*
60. Largest seed cones	*A gymnosperm, Lepidozamia about 0.9 m long and weighing about 45 kg.*
61. Largest sperm	*Cycas*
62. Largest sperm of plant	*Zamia roezhii (0.4 mm). Visible to naked eyes and has several spiral bands of 20,000 to 40,000 cilia.*
63. Largest spreading fungi	*Armillaria fungus. Single thallus can spread to area of about 100 acres of forest land.*
64. Largest spreading tree	*Ficus benghalensis (Banyan)*
65. Largest tree (Gymnosperm)	*Sequoia gigantea ( Giant red wood; about 13-16 m in diameter)*
66. Largest tree bearing fruit	*Jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllum is about 3 ft in size weighing 34 kg. the fruits are known to develop directly on tree trunks called cauliflory.*
67. Largest undivided leaves	*Amazonian palm, Manicaria saccifera has leaves about 30 ft long.*
68. Largest water storage tree	*African plant baobab, Adansonia digitata has the capacity to store 30,000 gallons of water.*
69. Largest winged seed	*The climbing gourd, Alsomitra macrocarpa*
70. Largest worst smelling blossoms	*Malaysian corpse floral arum, Amorphophallus titanum*
71. Lightest wood	*Balsa (Ochroma pyramidale)*
72. Longest creeper	*Elephant creeper (Entada pursaethia)*
73. Longest fibre	*Linum usitatissimum (Flax or alsi)*
74. Longest leaf	*Raphia vinifera (50 ft)*
75. Longest lifespan	*Larrea tridentata (South West California, USA, 11,300 yrs)*
76. Longest plant cell	*Fibre cell of Boehmeria nivea (ramie; about 55 cm in length)- Sclerenchyma fibres*
77. Longest plant embryo	*Lodoicea maldivica or double coconut*
78. Longest pollen grain	*Zostera (2500 µm long)*
79. Longest style	*Maize (Zea mays)*
80. Longest travelling seeds	*Seeds of Entida gigas are thrown miles away by bursting pods.*
81. Major source of sugar	*Beet root (Beta vulgaris). Provide 60% of total sugar*
82. Maximum fruits are provided by family	*Rutaceae*
83. Maximum life span of a tree	*Macrozamia (10,000 yrs); Dracaena (8000 yrs)*
84. Maximum longevity in a seed	*Nelumbo (lotus), about 1000 yrs*
85. Maximum number of chromosomes in Angiosperm	*Poa litorosa (2n= 266)*
86. Maximum number of chromosomes in plants	*Ophioglossum reticulatum (2n= 1262)*
87. Maximum ovules per locule in the ovary	*Solanaceae*
88. Maximum vegetables are provided by family	*Solanaceae*
89. Minimum number of chromosomes in Angiosperm	*Haplopappus gracilis (2n=4)*
90. Minimum number of chromosomes in plants	*Mucor (2n=2)*
91. Most advanced family	*Compositae (in dicots) and Graminae (in monocots)*
92. Most Dangerous Tree	The Manchineel Tree of the Caribbean coast and the Florida Everglades is a species that secretes an exceptionally poisonous and acid sap. Upon contact to the skin, a break out of blisters would occur. In the occasions where there is contact to the eye, a person can be blinded, and a bite of its fruit causes blistering and severe pain. This tree has been feared ever since the Spanish explorers came to the Americas in the 16th century.
93. Most durable wood	*Tectonia grandis (Teak)*
94. Most Massive Tree	The "Lindsey Creek Tree", a Coast Redwood with a minimum trunk volume of 90,000 cubic feet and a minimum total mass of 3630 tons was the most massive known tree until it blew over in a storm in 1905. The most massive living tree is "General Sherman", a giant sequoia found in the Sequoia National Park in California. It is 275 feet tall with a girth of 102 feet and 8 inches.
95. Most painful spines	The trichomes of true nettle, Urtica dioica (Bitchu butti) is rich in chemicals acetyl choline, histamine and hydroxytryptamins causing deadliest skin reactions to animals. The apex of trichome is siliceous which breaks open in our skin
96. Most poisonous fungi	*Amanita phalloides*
97. Most spreading plant	*Gaylussacia brachyera*
98. Oldest cultivated crop	*Barley (Hordeum vulgare)*
99. Oldest living fossil	*Ginkgo biloba. 1,50,000 centuries ago.*
100. Oldest plant clone	*Lomaticia Tasmania has adult sterile triploid plant incapable of producing seeds. These plants have been estimated to be 43,000 years old and reproducing only of vegetatively by suckers.*
101. Oldest tree	*Larrea tridentata (S.W California; 11,300 yrs); The Mein Yuch, Pinus longaeva (sleeping moon; 4128 yrs).* Found in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in California, the oldest tree recognized is a Redwood known as Eternal God. The tree is believed to be 12,000 years old, although it is argued as being only 7,000 years old, which still makes it the oldest.
102. Oldest viable seed	*Arctic lupine (Lupinus arcticus). Discovered from lemming burrow in frozen arctic tundra. 10,000 yrs old. It is now germinated and flowered by scientists.*
103. Plant having most beautiful flowers	*Flame amherstia*
104. Sharpest spines	*Opuntia bigelovii (Jumping cholla) has sharpest spines causing deadly pain as they break down in our skin after piercing.*
105. Slowest Growing Tree	*A White Cedar located in the Great Lakes area of Canada, has only grown to less than 4 inches tall during its 155 years.*
106. Smallest acellular organism and plant	*Mycoplasma gallisepticum (PPLO)*
107. Smallest algae	*Chlamydomonas (green algae)*
108. Smallest angiosperm	*Lemna (Duckweed)*
109. Smallest angiospermic parasite	*Arceuthobium minutissimum (stem parasite of Pinus excelsa)*
110. Smallest archegonium	*In gymnosperms*
111. Smallest bryophyte	*Zoopsis (microscopic), ephimerum*
112. Smallest chromosome	*A fungus (0.025 µm)*
113. Smallest flower	*Wolffia microscopica (W. arrhiza; 0.1 mm)- Angiospermic*
114. Smallest flowering plant	*A rootless angiosperm, Wolffia globossa can fit into an eye of an ordinary sewing needle and is 0.6 mm and 0.3 mm wide. The plant is 1,65,000 times shorter than tallest Eucalyptus.*
115. Smallest fruit	*Wolffia arrhiza. Weighing only 70 micrograms.*
116. Smallest fungi	*Yeast (Saccharomyces)*
117. Smallest gametophytic plant	*Chlamydomonas*
118. Smallest gymnosperm	*Zamia pygmia*
119. Smallest gymnosperm	*Zamia roezlii is about 0.4 mm in length just visble to an unaided eye.*
120. Smallest leaves	*Scale like leaf called prophyllum is just 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm in length belonging to Wolffia bovealis and Azolla filicules (water fern) leaves are just 1 mm long.*
121. Smallest monocot plant	*Galanthus nivalis (Snowdrops)*
122. Smallest orchid	*Bulbophyllum minutissimum*
123. Smallest pollen grain	*Myosotis (2.5-3.5 µm)- Orchid*
124. Smallest pteridophyte	*Azolla (water fern)*
125. Smallest seeds	Coral root orchid, Corallorhiza maculata has a seed weighing about one 35 millionth of an ounce (1/35,000,000 micrograms). Some seeds are just 1/300^th of an inch whereas our vision 20/20 is just under 0.1 mm. they appear as dust particles.
126. Smallest tree	*Salix (dwarf willow), found in Tundra region*
127. Strongest gymnosperm wood (soft wood)	*Cedrus deodara*
128. Tallest and fastest growing bamboo	*Bambusa arundinaceae*
129. Tallest Tree	*Tallest gymnosperm: Sequoia sempervirens (coast red wood; about 111.25 m height. Found in red wood park of California)* *Tallest or largest angiosperm: Eucalyptus ragnans (114 m)* *Tallest monocot plant: Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera)*

- The Most: Related To Animals -6 (mammals)
Blue whale 1.         Commonest animal Homo sapiens (man) 2.         Fastest animal Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus (112 km/hr) (found in Africa, Middle East, W. Asia) 3.        ...

- The Most: Related To Animals -4 (reptiles)
Anaconda 1.         Fastest snake African mumba (30 km/hr) 2.         Heaviest snake Anaconda (8.25 m length; 227 kg) 3.        ...

- The Most: Related To Animals -3 (amphibians)
1.         Fastest Amphibian (On Land) Six-linedracerunner (found in USA). can run at 29 kph 2.         Highest elevation frog It may be Bufo latastii. It was described...

- The Most: Related To Microbes
PPLO 1.         Largest (longest) plant virus Citrus tristeza (rod shaped)- 20,000 nm in size (0.02 mm) 2.         Largest animal virus Parrot fever Virus (450...

- The Most: Related To Animals -1 (invertebrates)
1.       Animal which turns its body most times Cockroach (25 times/sec) 2.       Deepest Living Myriotrochus bruuni. Found at a depths up to 10,710 m or (35,130 ft). Marianas Trench...

Biology