One says the Osmania biscuit was born in the royal kitchen of the last Nizam of Hyderabad. Apparently, the Nizam, a man with a discerning palate, craved a teatime snack that was both sweet and salty.

Last week, horticulturalists at the Royal Botanic Gardens announced that one of its rarest plants was preparing to flower for the first time in 15 years. The appropriately named corpse flower, due to ...