To disperse its seeds, a common cucurbit causes its fruits to explode. For the first time, mathematicians have analyzed this spectacular phenomenon, representing the fastest movement in the plant world.
The invention of seed plants has completely transformed life on Earth, well beyond the plant world. Although its origin remains unknown and probably dates back 400 million years, the seed is an incredibly ingenious device allowing a plant to remain dormant while waiting for better conditions to hatch. It also allows it to colonize new environments through very varied modes of dispersal. Carried by the elements, water, wind, spit out or defecated by their animal or human consumers, seeds have allowed plants to occupy almost all ecosystems.
Among the most astonishing dispersal mechanisms is that ofEcballium elaterium. Its secrets have just been brought to light by a British team from the University of Oxford in the journal Pnas. Flowering plant of the Cucurbitaceae family, Ecballium elaterium is found all around the Mediterranean. Its fruits are toxic, but that's not what gives it the nickname devil's cucumber. Also nicknamed jumping gherkin or explosive cucumber, the fruit of this plant has the rather unique characteristic of literally exploding when ripe, projecting its seeds over ten meters!
The explosion of the devil's cucumber, the fastest movement in the plant world
This is the fastest kinetics ever recorded in a plant world where movements are usually rather slow. Including among plants practicing autochory, namely this mode of dissemination where organisms do not rely on the elements or animals to disperse their seeds but have developed mechanical means of expulsion.
Realize: it is estimated that at the maximum of its maturation, the pressure of the fruit of this cucurbit is six bars, or three times more than the tires of a car! Ejected, the seeds fly through the air at nearly 40 km/h. By combining practical experiences, captati[…]
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