Though it may seem odd, a K is used to represent potassium on the periodic table and the P represents phosphorous (maybe phosphorous had a better lobbyist).
Potassium ions are naturally found in high concentrations within plant cells and are required for the opening and closing of stomates and in the synthesis of proteins essential for plant health. Traditionally, dead plant matter was burned in containers or pots to obtain the ash, which was high in potassium, thus the name potash was adopted.
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