Plants and Us
 

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Plants & Sport
Top 10

Banana (Musa spp.)
One banana contains about 602mg potassium, a mineral which is vital in regulating the heartbeat and controlling blood pressure.

Durum wheat (Triticum durum)
Ask any marathon runner what they eat the night before the race and you can almost guarantee that it will be pasta made from durum wheat flour.

Grass (Poa spp., Lolium spp., Festuca spp.)
From crown green bowling to golf courses and football pitches, there’s a type of grass for every sport.

Orange (Citrus aurantium)
Oranges are a quick and refreshing way to quench thirst and replace sugar that the body loses during exercise.

Persimmon (Diospyros texana)
The ‘woods’ in a set of golf clubs are traditionally made from persimmon wood, a hard wood imported from America.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum)
The potato is low fat, cholesterol free, rich in vitamin C and potassium, and a good source of carbohydrates for energy.

Rubbertree (Hevea brasiliensis)
Car tyres, bicycle tyres, waterproofing, table tennis bats, tennis balls, golf balls – the list of sports equipment that originally used rubber is almost endless.

Sugar cane (Saccharum spp.)
Endurance sportsmen and sportswomen rely on a steady supply of glucose, which is derived from sugar cane.

Willow (Salix alba)
Cricket bats are traditionally made of willow and an English willow cricket bat is still the standard.

Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
Originally used by Native Americans to treat aches and pain, wintergreen is a traditional ingredient for sports rubs, which help with muscular pain.