High-speed camera catches cucumber squirting seeds at 65 feet-per-second
They filmed the seed dispersal using a high-speed camera, which captured up to 8,600 frames per second. They then measured the fruit and stem volume both before and after dispersal, performed indentation tests, took CT scans of an intact cucumber, and monitored the fruit with time-lapse photography in the days leading up to the seed launch.
Squirting Cucumbers Shoot Their Seeds Like Botanical Bombardiers
The hairy, ground-hugging vines of the squirting cucumber Ecballium elaterium might seem like an ordinary weedy plant. But take a closer look at the plant, which grows in dry, barren areas in the Mediterranean, and you’ll find “an extraordinary thing,” said Chris Thorogood, a botanist at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum.
Explosive Study Reveals How Squirting Cucumber Engorges And Erupts, Shooting Seeds 10 Meters
To reveal the mechanism, the team employed the help of a high-speed camera that could capture up to 8,600 frames per second, and took measurements of squirting cucumber plants before and after seed ejection. They also created a time-lapse monitoring the plants in the lead-up to dispersal day, and even took CT scans.
Squirting cucumber's "explosion" of seeds is a natural masterpiece
"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 helping hands like wind or animals,
The Secret Lives Of Squirting Cucumbers
The squirting cucumber Ecballium—not to be confused with the exploding cucumber Cyclanthera—is not a showy plant. It meanders on a vine on the ground, sprouting craggly green leaves and demure yellow flowers.
Manchester scientists unlock ‘explosive’ secrets of the squirting cucumber
Scientists from the University of Manchester have uncovered the secrets behind one of nature’s quirkiest plants - the squirting cucumber.While most plants rely on external forces such as animals, wind,
New Study Unveils the Explosive Secrets of the Squirting Cucumber
The squirting cucumber shoots its seeds so fast that scientists had to use techniques like high-speed videography to record it.
Mathematical modeling reveals the explosive secret of the squirting cucumber
A team led by the University of Oxford has solved a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries: how does the squirting cucumber squirt?
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New study reveals the explosive secret of the squirting cucumber
A team led by the University of Oxford has solved a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries: how does the ...
Solved: The Mystery of the Squirting Cucumber’s Powerful Projection
One of the most famous ballistic dispersers is Ecballium elaterium, a.k.a. the squirting cucumber. Upon ripening, its fruits explode and fire their goo-covered seeds distances of 10 to 20 feet or more ...
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Research Unveils Squirting Cucumber's Explosive Secret
A team led by the University of Oxford has solved a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries: how does the ...
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Oxford University experts make squirting cucumber discovery
Scientists from the University of Oxford have discovered how the squirting cucumber squirts. The team solved the long-standing mystery using a mix of experiments, high-speed videography, image ...