"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 ...
Learn more about squirting cucumbers (Ecballium elaterium) and how their seeds explode out of them, which could lead to medical advancements. When it comes to seed dispersal, many plants rely on the ...
Plant species exhibit a variety of mechanisms of seed dispersal. The majority of seeds will be dispersed locally around the maternal parent in relation to the speed and direction of wind for ...
These inedible cucumbers build up fluid in their fruit and eventually explode due to internal pressure. The mystery surrounding the exact way the squirting cucumber disperses its seeds and how it ...
Figure 1: Seed dispersal simulations of five wind-dispersed tree species around the Duke Forest tower, for 35 days during the autumn of 2000. The above sampling problem could be resolved by placing ...
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. This rainforest tree solved one of evolution’s hardest ...
Anna Nordseth is an ecology writer and Duke University Ph.D. candidate specializing in tropical forest ecology, conservation research, and biodiversity. Think plants can’t move? You’re only half right ...