Money Grown On Trees Trivia Quiz

Answer: Singapore

The Tembusu tree, Fagraea fragrans, is a large evergreen tree native to south-east Asia characterised by deeply fissured bark. The tree grows to a height of around 25m and produces bitter red berries. The two hundred year old Tembusu tree sited in Singapore's botanic gardens appears on the reverse of the Singaporean $5 note in that nation's fourth series of banknotes - what is known as the 'Portrait Series' - in paper form issued in September 1999 and in polymer form eight years later in May 2007.

The obverse of this note carries a portrait of the first president of the Republic of Singapore, Yusof bin Ishak, is predominately green in colour and carries a Braille imprint in the top right hand corner.

Answer: Sierra Leone

The White-Silk Cotton Tree, Ceiba pentandra, is a symbol of national importance in Sierra Leone. Legend has it that the large White-Silk Cotton tree which stands near the Supreme Court building in Freetown, the national capital, was the site of a thanksgiving ceremony held by the first freed African-American slaves to land there in 1792 after the American War of Independence.

The tree features on the reverse of a series of banknotes which were first issued as a set of four on the 14th of May 2010.

The predominately blue and green coloured ten thousand Leones banknote features a dove, a map and the national flag of Sierra Leone on the obverse. The White-Silk Cotton tree is the main source of Kapok and other related materials, particularly Kapok oil.

Answer: Sri Lanka

The island of Sri Lanka at the southern tip of the Indian sub-continent gained its independence from Great Britain on the 4th of February 1948, but retained its dominion status until becoming a republic on the 22nd of May 1972. The first issue of the light-green coloured Sri Lankan 10 Rupee banknote occurred almost seven years later on the 23rd of March 1979 and featured an image of the Grey hornbill, Tockus gingalensis and the Velvet Tamarind tree, Dialium ovoideum, a leguminous tree endemic to the island on the obverse.

The reverse of the banknote features a scene illustrating indigenous species of bird and frog, the yellow-eared bulbul, Pycnonotus penicillatus, and Racophorus cruciger eques, respectively resting on a branch of rhododendron tree.

Answer: Estonia

The Tamme-Lauri Oak is a tree of national importance, reputedly being the oldest tree in Estonia. It was, according to scientific research, planted in 1326. The oak takes its name from an Estonian fire spirit that was believed to have inhabited the tree.

The Tamme-Lauri Oak is still viable today and has been a protected monument since 1939, the land on which it stands being purchased by the Estonian Environment Ministry in 2006. The Estonian Kroon ceased to be legal tender in 2011 after it was withdrawn and replaced with the Euro.

The obverse of this banknote featured a portrait of the prominent Estonian Jakob Hurt from which the note took a common nickname, the 'Hurt'. The note was predominately pink in colour.

Answer: Colombia

The Colombian 100,000 Peso banknote is the newest denomination of banknote issued in Colombia. It is predominately green in colour and features the Wax Palm tree, Ceroxylon quindiuense, on its reverse. The obverse of the note, which entered into circulation on the 31st of March 2016, features an image of Colombia's twenty second president, Carlos Lleras Restrepo.

This issue of the note is the first time that a denomination of this value has been issued by the Colombian Banco de la República. The currency of Colombia is informally abbreviated using the symbol 'COL$' but the official abbreviation for the Peso is '$'. Since 1985, this tallest member of the palm family and national tree of Colombia has been a legally protected species.

Answer: Zambia

The Masuku or Sugar Plum tree, Uapaca kirkiana, features on a series of newly designed Zambian banknotes first issued in 2012, each denomination of note in the series featuring a unique and indigenous tree from the forests that cover the country. This issue of 10 Kwacha note is bluish-green in colour and features the Masuku tree and a Fish Eagle on the obverse and an image of farmers harvesting their crops and a porcupine on its reverse.

The Masuku tree is a valuable commodity in the region; the wood is termite resistant and is, therefore, a popular material in the construction of houses, furniture and cooking utensils.

The tasty fruits are widely used in the production of sweetmeats and jams and the honey produced from the tree's flowers is reputed to be especially pleasant.

Answer: The Lebanon

Unlike the banknotes of other nations featured in this quiz, the Lebanon Cedar appears, in one form or another, on every denomination of banknote issued by the Banque du Liban, or Bank of Lebanon. The 2012 issuance of the 50,000 livres or Lebanese pounds banknote, which was first circulated as a denomination in 1994, is of a bluish-violet hue with touches of both green and orange. On the obverse, the note features a Lebanese Cedar, a stylised image of a small boat and a geometric block design and is adorned with Arabic script.

The reverse also features the cedar tree, a further geometric design and text in French.

Answer: Israel

According to the Bank of Israel, the new 100 Shekel, or Sheqalim, note is due to be introduced into circulation by the end of 2017. Fading from gold to green in colour, the obverse of the note features the Israeli poetess Leah Goldberg with a microprint of her popular poem 'In the land of my love, the almond tree blossoms' against a backdrop of the almond tree, Prunus dulcis, and its blossom.

The reverse of the note carries an image of a gazelle, a menorah and an extract from another of Goldberg's poems, 'White Days'.

As of 2017, the latest Israeli notes are some of the most technologically advanced banknotes in circulation anywhere in the world.

Answer: Madagascar

The Madagascar commemorative series 2000 Ariary banknote, which came into circulation in May 2012, is predominately olive green in colour. On the obverse, the note features an image of a pair of Baobab trees, of the species Adansonia grandidieri, occupying the left hand side and a small map of the island itself.

The right hand side of the note consists of a wide, natural colour strip which bears the watermark and the signature of Frédéric Rasamoely, the governor of the Banque Centrale de Madagascar when the series was issued.

The reverse of the note features a rural scene of terraced fields. The 'Avenue of the Baobabs' is an area of Madagascar in which the majority of the islands surviving Baobab trees can be found. Extending in a north-easterly direction from the city of Morondava in the islands western region, it is surprising that an area of such natural beauty and uniqueness has no government protection whatsoever from exploitation and destruction.

Answer: Eritrea

Eritrea, once a war torn region of Ethiopia, is one of the African continent's newest nations, having gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after thirty years of bloodshed. This currency, one of the world's newest, takes its name from the Eritrean city of Nakfa and replaced the Ethiopian Birr in 1997. Original issue Five Nakfa banknotes are of a greenish-buff colour and feature a central image of three young males representing the nation's nine nationalities on the obverse.

The reverse of the note features an image of a truly enormous giant sycamore tree, Ficus vasta, which is located near the small town of Segeneyti in the southern Eritrean highlands.

The artwork featured on all Eritrean currency was designed in 1994 by African-American artist Clarence Holbert.