Q 01/05

Lotions containing the clear gel of Aloe vera, a succulent from Arabia, are widely used to soothe which skin complaint?

A) Ringworm

B) Sunburn

C) Shingles

D) Warts

Answer · why

B) Sunburn

Sunburn is the complaint most people reach for aloe to calm, though studies disagree on how much it helps. The gel cannot protect skin from burning ag...

Q 02/05

Which spirit, named after a town in Jalisco, may be made from only one kind of agave, the blue Weber variety?

A) Cachaça

B) Grappa

C) Pisco

D) Tequila

Answer · why

D) Tequila

Tequila is a slow crop: a blue agave grows for years before its heart is cut out, baked and fermented, and each plant can be harvested only once.

Q 03/05

Which Christmas houseplant belongs to Euphorbia, a genus that also holds many spiny succulents mistaken for cacti?

A) Poinsettia

B) Amaryllis

C) Cyclamen

D) Christmas rose

Answer · why

A) Poinsettia

Poinsettia hides a second surprise: its red 'petals' are really coloured leaves called bracts, which only change colour after weeks of long, dark nigh...

Q 04/05

Crassula ovata, a tree-like succulent with shiny oval leaves, is also known as the money tree and by which other name?

A) Rubber plant

B) Prayer plant

C) Jade plant

D) Spider plant

Answer · why

C) Jade plant

Jade plant earns its tree-like look slowly: the trunk thickens and turns brown with age, which has made it a favourite subject for indoor bonsai.

Q 05/05

Agaves and yuccas, for all their sword-like leaves, sit in a family the APG system names after which vegetable?

A) Artichoke

B) Asparagus

C) Rhubarb

D) Spinach

Answer · why

B) Asparagus

Asparagus gives its name to the family Asparagaceae, which swallowed the old agave family in a 2009 reshuffle and also takes in bluebells and hostas.