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Exploding Cucumber

en.wikipedia.org

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

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...

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

> 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.

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

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.

Oh, chuck, now it's just a normal Wikipedia article. ;)

Thanks for the edit.

Reminds me of wisteria pods. When I was growing up, we had a wisteria, trained to grow like a small tree, several feet from our living room window. In the winter, the pods would twist and explode, and the large seeds would hit the window hard. I'm still surprised the window never broke!

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

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.

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 ;-)

Yes, the backfire added to the fun.

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