True Facts: Plants That Explode

IMPORTANT CORRECTIONS BELOW:

We must also additionally thank Dr. Joan Edwards at Williams College for her incredible research and videos. Many of the videos used in this episode were from the Edwards Lab!

At 2:40: The right image is from Edwards et al. 2019. The left is from Duckett et al. 2009.

At 2:51: Both SEM images are from Edwards et al. 2019.

01:50: The left image is from Whitaker, Webster and Edwards, 2007. The right image is from Edwards et al. 2019.

03:03 & 04:22: The videos of the sphagnum moss capsules exploding are all from Whitaker and Edwards, 2010.

00:31: The "pasties" are not spores. They're gemmae.

1:37: These aren't leaves. They are bracts.

Credits:
Dr Joan Edwards, Williams College
Dr Justin F. Jorge
Dr Dwight L. Whitaker
The Patek Lab
Dr Philippe Marmottant, LIPhy CNRS Grenoble
Dr Tom Lindtner
Dr Callin Switzer
Dr Simon Poppinga
Dr Robert Deegan
Dr Shuto Ito
Dr Dennis Evangelista
John Innes Centre, Germplasm Resources team, led by Dr Noam Chayut. The GR is supported by UKRI-BBSRC
BYUI

Citations

Cooper ES et al. Gyroscopic stabilization minimizes drag on Ruellia ciliatiflora seeds. J R Soc Interface. 2018 Mar;15(140):20170901. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2017.0901.

Duckett, J. Et al. (2009). Exploding a myth: The capsule dehiscence mechanism and the function of pseudostomata in Sphagnum. The New phytologist. 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.02905.x.

Edwards J, et al. The Role of Water in Fast Plant Movements. Integr Comp Biol. 2019 Dec 1;59(6):1525-1534. doi: 10.1093/icb/icz081.

Evangelista D,et al. The mechanics of explosive dispersal and self-burial in the seeds of the filaree, Erodium cicutarium (Geraniaceae). J Exp Biol. 2011 Feb 15;214(Pt 4):521-9. doi: 10.1242/jeb.050567.

Fiorello I, et al. A Biohybrid Self-Dispersing Miniature Machine Using Wild Oat Fruit Awns for Reforestation and Precision Agriculture. doi: 10.1002/adma.202313906.

Huang LJ, Fu WL. A water drop-shaped slingshot in plants: geometry and mechanics in the explosive seed dispersal of Orixa japonica (Rutaceae). Ann Bot. 2021 May 7;127(6):765-774. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcab017.

Jorge JF, Patek SN. Elastic pinch biomechanisms can yield consistent launch speeds regardless of projectile mass. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2023.0234.

Marmottant P, et al. The walk and jump of Equisetum spores. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1465.

Poppinga S, et al. A seed flying like a bullet: ballistic seed dispersal in Chinese witch-hazel (Hamamelis mollis OLIV., Hamamelidaceae). doi: 10.1098/rsif.2019.0327.

Ribera J, et al. Putting a New Spin on the Flight of Jabillo Seeds. Integr Comp Biol. 2020 Oct 1;60(4):919-924. doi: 10.1093/icb/icaa117.

Volkov, et al. Distributions of Silica and Biopolymer Structural Components in the Spore Elater of Equisetum arvense, an Ancient Silicifying Plant, Frontiers in Plant Science, Vol 10. 2019. DOI=10.3389/fpls.2019.00210

Whitaker DL, Edwards J. Sphagnum moss disperses spores with vortex rings. doi: 10.1126/science.1190179. PMID: 20651145.

[zefrank]

(also please look in the description for some important corrections)

[gabdraws]

the sound effects for the flower launching mechanisms are just magnificent

[TheDeltaSight]

there's something fucking hilarious about an educational channel getting tired of telling you the names of things

[alexianluqman]

Squirting Cucumber sounds like a bad euphemism

[_Mute_]

1:20 "You don't want to be covered with baby juice."
You don't know how I like to spend my weekends sir

[ajmatheson]

"Its like backstage at the nipple" has got to be one of the best opening jokes ever

[cellusDS]

I swear, whenever science fiction comes up with alien species, they are so much less weird than what's already going on on earth.

[brianbrian]

And the award for the most innuendos in 11 minutes goes to.

[LendriMujina]

How fitting that one of the more dramatically-exploding plants is called the "impatiens". I, too, explode all over the place when my patiens runs out.

[HLBear]

I was about 10 years old and home sick one week. The Southern Magnolias were blooming by my dad's work. He brought home one bud and put it in a vase beside the couch where I was napping, and it smelled great. Then, in the morning, it POPPED open and threw what I assume were stamens across the room. I'll never forget that - it was such a shock and made me laugh. 😊

[rustygears]

I never thought seeing spores walk could bring me so much joy

[Rock_on_Rbita]

"Yay~!"
"Whoppie~!"
"Woohoo~!"
"I'm not ready~!"

I can't! 😂

[angieemm]

It's the sound effects of the spore propulsion that really makes this video.

[Draedaja]

I don't know what's better - the sound effects or the "it's called nunya business" bits xD

[mxdwnfrcemdia]

2:12 OMG IM IN TEARS I LOVE THE SOUND EFFECTS HE MAKES

[shidiwen]

This was honestly one of your best videos to date. This must be a personal best for sound effects too. You’re really challenging yourself to keep each explosion fresh. I appreciate that.

[xXAkirhaXx]

" A jacket called 'who gives a shit what it's called'" is what made me giggle for the rest of the episode.

[orthochronicity]

Liverwort is about to become an exam problem the next time I teach intro mechanics. I'm always happy to find a reason for making watching YT a workplace activity.

[ChIGuY-town_]

"You don't want to be covered with baby juice"

Sounds like a threat, it's quite effective...unless you are a Emporer shrimp.

[arspsychologia]

The addition of rifling to the seed pod was a wonderful design touch.