Extraordinarily Clever Exploding Plants
All plants have to have a method of dispersing seeds, but these are experts with mini explosive devices that have been primed to wait for action until the time is right.
Plants disperse their seeds in various ways. Some are quite calm and ordered about it and do it gradually via insects, wind and rain, but others make a major thing of it. They wait until the weather is perfect and the seeds are perfectly ripe and then, bang! They explode and explode their seeds into the outside world.
Scotch broom and gorse are particularly forceful in this. Inside the seed pods are two valves and the dead plant tissues at the end of the season make the pods warp. When the weather is very warm the pod heats up and explodes. If you are walking among gorse pushes on a hot day towards the end of summer, this can actually be heard quite clearly.
Another real champion at exploding seed pods is the sandbox tree which can propel its seeds for up to fourteen metres.
Euphorbia makes a loud bang as it explodes its seed pods in the summer garden. This isn’t a light, cracking sound. It really does go with a bang and it is possible to be hit by these as you walk by.
Alstromeria, or Peruvian Lily has lovely orange flowers with littler black marks and its seed pods go off with a sound like a cap gun.
The Himalayan Balsam beats the others hands down though. It fills its seed pod with liquid and keeps pumping it in until the slightest touch will cause it to explode and fire the seed over an area of about 15 square feet around the main plant.
The beach mistletoe plant is a native of New Zealand and it doesn’t have exploding seed pods, like the others mentioned here. It has flowers that sit there waiting to ambush birds. In order to get at the seed, birds have to twist the flowers open. As they do this, there is a mini explosion and the bird gets showered with minute seeds which it then transports elsewhere. No other plant has this type of pollination system.
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19 Responses to “Extraordinarily Clever Exploding Plants”
On August 2, 2009 at 11:23 am
A really interesting read, Louie. Beautifully presented and illustrated. Well done.
Christine
On August 2, 2009 at 11:50 am
an article worthy of a second or third reading. I like it a lot!
On August 2, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Because of their explosive actions scotch brooms are no longer allowed in Alberta where I live. It’s a shame, but, in this case they really did bring it upon themselves.
On August 2, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Very interesting. Thanks for the info. Keep posting!
On August 2, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Interesting and informative. I had not heard of the sandbox tree.
On August 2, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Great informative article, Louie. A local man was shot dead with a .38 Dahlia yesterday! LOL
On August 2, 2009 at 5:44 pm
That was interesting.
Thanks,
Inna
On August 2, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Interesting. I knew about hitch-hiking plants (having picked them out of my socks a lot), but not about exploding ones.
On August 2, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Hey did you know that the powder from the sand box tree can also cause a choking affect and blindness? Good research. Friend fan smile
On August 2, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Very well written and beautiful article
On August 2, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Louie, I’m glad you wrote this because I thought the witch hazel was the only one the explodes to propagate.
On August 2, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Hi again, it should read only one “that explodes”. I need to go to bed. I am too sleepy to type right. lol
Take care & God bless.
On August 3, 2009 at 12:37 am
Louie, I love the topic. This spring I discovered what I believe to be a magnolia tree. The flowers were beautiful and then they went to seed. The seeds were encased in long pods which I eventually collected about 20 of them. I set them down and over time realized that some of them had opened up. Then one day a pod popped open before my very eyes (and ears). The seeds when flailing all over the room. I couldn’t believe it. In the coming weeks all of the rest popped open too. I began putting them in select locations where I spend a lot of time, including in my office, so I could experience the explosion. It was unique and wonderful. For me it is a picture of joy.
Brian
On August 3, 2009 at 1:20 am
What a unique, interesting article!
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
On August 3, 2009 at 4:20 am
A very original and interesting article. I’d never heard of some of these before.
On August 3, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Great stuff – I always enjoying popping seed pods when I was a kid – just a touch and off they went, leaving me shuddering in excitement!!
Blogged at webphemera.com….
On August 3, 2009 at 10:56 pm
it was a great read!
great images too! keep it up, louie. 
On August 13, 2009 at 12:45 pm
This is a great article, more so because nature is awesome, pretty and unpredictable at times. lovely
On October 22, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Interesting article!!!
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