"Ballistic seed dispersal" is not something you see often in plants – and for good reason, perhaps, when you see just what the affectionately called squirting cucumber is capable of. Shunning external ...

Until now, the exact mechanism of the squirting cucumber's seed dispersal -- and how this affects its reproductive success -- remained poorly understood. In the new study, researchers from the ...

(CNN) — An odd little gourd called the squirting cucumber has an explosive reproductive strategy that has intrigued naturalists since the days of the Roman Empire. Squirting cucumbers blast their ...

Three summers ago, Kiel University biomechanist Stainslav Gorb, returned to Germany after a vacation in Turkey with a present for Ph.D. student Helen Gorges. "He came back and was like, 'Helen, I ...

New research into the biomechanics of explosive seed dispersal in squirting cucumbers (Ecballium elaterium) reveals how these plants have adapted a suite of unique traits that help propel their ...

To study explosive discharge of DM fruit in the laboratory, Hinds et al. 3 were able to initiate dehiscence by slightly warming ripe fruit. While we cannot guess what these authors might have thought ...

Although widespread among fungi, lichens, liverworts, and mosses, seed dispersal mechanisms operated by rain are unusual among flowering plants. Generally speaking, two mechanisms are involved in seed ...

Exploding seed pods evolved in the Arabidopsis relative Cardamine hirsuta via morphomechanical innovations that allow the storage and rapid release of elastic energy. Asymmetric lignin deposition ...