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Fruit Facts

Apples

Did you know…….

v That all cultivated apples are descendents of the wild crab apples that grow in Northern Europe, Asia, and America.

v Apple trees can grow up to 12 metres high.

v Apple wood is soft and is sometimes used to make decorative in-lays on wooden furniture.

Pears

Did you know…..

v Pear trees can grow to 18 metres high

v A pear tree can live for more than 300 years.

v Pear wood is hard and can be used to make furniture.

Bananas

Did you know…

v People in the tropics have eaten bananas for thousands of years.

v There are more than 100 varieties of bananas.

v Bananas have high levels of sugars, starch, and vitamins A and C.

v Banana ash is used to make soap

Oranges, Lemons, and Limes

Did you know…

v Orange trees first grew in China.

v Oranges were introduced to Europe by Arab traders more than 1,000 years ago.

v A medium-sized orange contains the daily amount of vitamin C required by a healthy adult.

v Lemons, oranges, and limes are all citrus fruits. Their juices contain citric acid.

v Squeezing the juice of either lemons, limes or oranges over apples and pears will stop them from growing brown for up to 24 hours

Pineapples

Did you know…

v The name pine-apple was the original name for a pine cone (grows on pine trees).

v Because the fruit pineapple looked like a huge pine cone, it too was called a pine-apple.

v Pineapples contain an enzyme that is used in blood tests.

v Fibers in pineapple leaves are used to make rope and a cloth called pino.

Strawberries and Raspberries

Did you know…

v The strawberry probably got its name originally from the Anglo-Saxon word streawberige, which means “spreading berry.”

v Strawberries are the only fruit to have their seeds on the outside

v Strawberries contain more vitamin C that an orange

v Most raspberries are red, but some varieties are white, yellow, or black.

v Raspberries may have been named after a 16th century French wine called raspis.

Melons

Did you know…

v Watermelons are related to climbing plants that probably came from tropical Africa.

v Melons can grow to 18 kilograms or more.

General Fruit Facts

Did you know…

v Olive trees can live for more than 1,500 years.

v Figs were one of the fruit most often eaten by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

v Soft dates contain saccharine, which is sometimes used as a sugar substitute for diabetics.

v Vine fruits Grapes were grown by the ancient Egyptians more than 6,000 years ago.

v Passion fruits were first grown in Brazil.

v Kiwi plants were first grown in China.

v Kiwis were once known as Chinese gooseberries.