Q 01/05

Which conifer species of foggy northern California includes Hyperion, the tallest known living tree?

A) Giant sequoia

B) Coast redwood

C) Sitka spruce

D) Western hemlock

Answer · why

B) Coast redwood

Coast redwood Hyperion stands about 116 metres tall, yet it went unnoticed in a California park until two naturalists found it in 2006.

Q 02/05

Which spirit gets its main flavour from the berry-like seed cones of the juniper, a conifer?

A) Vodka

B) Rum

C) Tequila

D) Gin

Answer · why

D) Gin

Gin is a shortened form of genever, a word related to the Dutch name for juniper, and the so-called berries are really cones with fleshy, fused scales...

Q 03/05

Which golden gem, sometimes found with insects inside, is the fossilised resin of ancient trees?

A) Amber

B) Jet

C) Coral

D) Pearl

Answer · why

A) Amber

Amber starts as soft, sticky resin, which is how small animals get caught in it. The largest known deposits lie around the Baltic, where conifers ooze...

Q 04/05

Which sauce from Genoa in Italy traditionally gets its richness from the seeds of pine trees?

A) Carbonara

B) Marinara

C) Pesto

D) Alfredo

Answer · why

C) Pesto

Pesto takes its name from a Genoese verb meaning to pound, because the pine nuts, basil and garlic were crushed together in a marble mortar.

Q 05/05

Which tropical fruit owes its English name to a resemblance to the cones of a conifer?

A) Pineapple

B) Breadfruit

C) Jackfruit

D) Custard apple

Answer · why

A) Pineapple

Pineapple was the English word for a pine cone long before the fruit was known, and Columbus, who met the fruit in 1493, called it the pine of the Ind...