Exploding Cucumber

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclanthera_brachystachya

15•KolmogorovComp•13h ago

Comments

tau255•13h ago

A plant with similarly exploding feature is Impatiens parviflora [1]. It is quite easy to spot in the wild in Europe.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impatiens_parviflora

franciscop•13h ago

I found details of the Impatiens Parviflora and its exploding properties on the Spanish Wikipedia. But digging deeper, it seems the general term for exploding seeds is "Ballocoria" (Latin), only found in a sub-section:

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispersi%C3%B3n_de_los_prop%C3...

https://grok.com/share/bGVnYWN5LWNvcHk%3D_e1c522fa-64ae-4864...

tau255•12h ago

I have found some footage of the seedpod exploding [1]. It seems that Impatiens parviflora is invasive species that propagated from botanical gardens in Europe. One research [2] states it can shoot seed up to 3.4 meters.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QUzag5u7Pi0 [2] über Impatiens parviflora Dc. als Agriophyt in mitteleuropa, L Trepl - 1984

flowerthoughts•2h ago

> Impatiens parviflora (small balsam, or small-flowered touch-me-not)

I love how that Wikipedia article never mentions why it's called "touch-me-not."

If you don't already know why, it's simply not to be touched.

fragmede•1h ago

Good idea! I added a sentence explaining where the name comes from to the Wikipedia article.

cafeinux•17m ago

And I removed what I can only think was a typo in your sentence :-).

>The name comes from the ~~seeds~~ fact that ripe seed pods explode when touched to disperse seeds widely.

tetris11•10h ago

Oh I've seen Ecballium Elaterium ("squirting cucmber") in Cyprus. They're everywhere and just flicking a stone at one can cause a chain reaction in others. Not edible AFAIK

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecballium

kcplate•9h ago

As a kid during a brief stint living outside of Athens, we found them all over. It was fun to try and squirt your friends.

tetris11•9h ago

Same! Got into many battles that way. Problem of course being that the plant is so unpredictable that you end up spraying yourself than your actual target ;-)

kcplate•9h ago

Yes, the backfire added to the fun.

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