Thursday, October 20, 2011

  Largest Giant Rhubarb Leaf: Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens sets world record

 DORSET, UK -- Grown at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens in Dorset, the giant Gunnera Manicata (known as a Giant Rhubarb), has a leaf with an 11ft span - setting theworld record for the Largest Garden Giant Rhubarb Leaf, according to World Record Academy (www.worldrecordacademy.com).

  Photo: Steve Griffith, garden curator at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens in Dorset, shows the World's Largest Giant Rhubarb Leaf. ( enlarge photo )

The Guinness world record for the largest maple leaf measured 53 cm (20.86 in) wide and 52.2 cm (20.55 in) long and was discovered by Vikas Tanwar and family (all Canada) in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the record for the largest collection of four-leaf clovers belongs to Edward Martin Sr. from Cooper Landing, Alaska, USA, with 111,060 four-leaf clovers.

  The World's Largest Giant Rhubarb, native to Brazil, has been growing at the gardens for the last 30 years but its leaves this year are three feet longer than usual.

  It is believed the wet summer is responsible for the booming of the bog-loving behemoth.

  Gunnera manicata is native to the cloud forests of the Andes. In its native habitat, individual leaves can be as much as 10ft across, making this one of the world's largest perennial plants.

  Curator Stephen Griffith believes his leaves are the largest in Britain and the bounty is a bonus after last winter's cold weather caused serious harm to several plants.

  He said: 'The damp cool summer we had has produced some enormous leaves, including this one that measures 3.3 metres across and could be a record breaker.'

  The leaves of the plant - which is known as a Giant Rhubarb - are usually about 8ft wide.

   A spokeswoman for the Royal Horticultural Society described Abbotsbury's leaf as 'something of a monster'.

Related world records:   
Largest maple leaf: Eve Steel

Heaviest squash: Joel Jarvis (Video)

Heaviest onion: Peter Glazebrook (HD Video)

Heaviest swede: Ian Neale

Largest Fungus: Tropical Chinese fungus

First all-black petunia: Black Velvet

Largest maple leaf: Eve Steel

Largest puffball: Finley O'Neill

Largest Pumpkin: Chris Stevens

Longest cucumber: Clare Pearce

Smallest Waterlily: Nymphaea thermarum

Most diverse repository of crop seeds: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Biggest Mango: Sergio and Maria Socorro Bodiongan

Oldest Living Palmer's Oak: Jurupa Oak

Tallest Zinnia: Everett Wallace Jr.  and Melody Wagner

Tallest living Christmas tree: Coeur d'Alene

Smallest orchid: Lou Jost

Largest maple leaf: Hailey Nickolson

Most tomatoes grown on a single truss: Graham Tranter

Tallest rose bush: Robert Bendel

Largest pumpkin: Christy Harp

Heaviest gooseberry: Bryan Nellist

Tallest Cactus: SDM College of Dental Sciences

Largest rutabaga: Scott Robb

Largest cabbage: Steve Hubacek 

Longest Cucumber: Yitzhak Yazdanpana

Largest organic cucumber: Segee family

Largest potato: Khalil Semhat

Largest rutabaga: Norm Craven

Most cobs on a maize plant: Mark Wozencroft

Longest cucumber - Alf Cobb

Largest marrow: Ken Dade

Longest Spaghetti Bean: Toni Velardo

Longest water spinach: Li Hui

Largest horizontal wall of flowers: Thompson and Morgan

Thursday, October 20, 2011