11 Foods You Didn't Know Grew Like That

We pick apples from trees, pluck blueberries from bushes and unearth potatoes from the dirt, but then nature throws us a few curve balls. Where do peanuts come from? We'd never guess that these nuts come from pods that grow on roots - and after one glance at those bulbous growths you may never look at them the same way again. Cashew nuts, which are actually seeds, grow from the bottom of cashew apples in a kidney-shaped extension (rather unscientifically referred to as the "dingly bit").

Did you know that artichokes are actually flowers? And bananas, too, for that matter? Several foods grow on trees that are a bit unusual in terms of appearance. Some are creepy, haunted-looking trees and others are gnarled trees that look like, well, your grandpa. And a common ingredient we find in chocolate grows in pods on trees! Prepare to be surprised by these odd, otherworldly plants and plenty of other surprises nature has in store for us.

From pineapple and capers to cocoa beans, find out how many popular foods grow in unexpected ways. If all this begs the question "Why can't they just grow like normal food?", think of the alternative: without these strange photos and the world's weirdest fruits, your midweek pick-me-up just wouldn't be the same. We shudder to think about it!

Check out the video above to discover 11 surprising foods that grow in the weirdest ways.

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