Flowers-3
Flowering plants, known as angiosperms, are a major group of plants that provide most of our food crops and are thus of enormous importance in a nutritional and economic sense. They include grasses such as corn, oats, rice, wheat etc. as well as fruits, potatoes, olives, tomatoes and so on.
The field of horticulture, the practice of garden culture and management, is also of huge economic significance, as is floristry, the art of creating beautiful bouquets using flowers, herbs and other plants. Flower cultivation is a huge industry with crops grown in vast quantities and then sold to retailers all over the world. The economic importance of decorative plants has increased in many countries and global demand has rapidly escalated. The industry’s largest sector is cut flowers, the annual sale of which amounts to some 25 billion US dollars. The Netherlands alone is responsible for almost 60% of world exports and is famous for its efficient and profitable flower auctions. Italy and Israel are among the world leaders in this field and also very much involved are African and South American countries. Climatic conditions in equatorial regions are almost perfect for flower cultivation. However, as air-freight is essential for rapid delivery, transport costs almost cancel out the advantage of cheap labour. The flower trade is blossoming. As an example, Kenya is now one of the leading exporters of cut flowers to Europe, providing a welcome source of income for many Kenyan families.