Rattlesnake plantain boasting the world's smallest seeds sighted in Yunnan, SW China

(Photo/People's Daily Online)

A rattlesnake plantain, boasting the smallest seeds in the plant kingdom, revealed its blossoms deep inside the mountains at the Nangunhe National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Yunnan Province in September.

The photographer described the plant as having erect flower stems covered with tiny hairs. Its raceme is composed of over 20 tiny white flowers whose stems extend in the same direction, an appearance that exudes a sense of gracefulness.

It's said that a rattlesnake plantain's seeds are as small as particles of dust. Comparatively speaking, 100 million sesame seeds weigh about 400 kilograms, while 100 million rattlesnake plantain seeds merely weigh around 50 grams, which means that the latter can only be observed via a microscope. Therefore, the plant indisputably deserves the title for producing the plant kingdom's smallest seeds.