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Manchester scientists have unlocked the ‘explosive’ secrets of the squirting cucumber

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Emily Sergeant - 28th November 2024

Manchester is constantly positioning itself at the forefront of scientific discoveries.

Scientists born or based in our city have played truly integral parts in so many major breakthroughs throughout the centuries, including the invention of the first electronic stored-program computer in 1948, the discovery of the electron in 1897, and more recently in the 21st century, the creation of graphene in 2004.

But could this be their most important discovery yet? Probably not… but it certainly grabbed our attentions, that’s for sure.

That’s because scientists from the University of Manchester (UoM), together with the University of Oxford, have uncovered the secrets behind one of nature’s quirkiest plants – the Ecballium elaterium, also known as ‘the squirting cucumber’.

While the name might suggest otherwise, this breakthrough by Manchester‘s-own is no joke.

This cucumber – which has intrigued scientists due to its dramatic seed dispersal method for a long time – spreads its seeds by launching them at high speed in a pressurised jet, sending them more than 10 metres from the parent plant.

For as long as the plant has intrigued scientists, the exact mechanism and its benefits were said to be “poorly understood”.

But now, through using high-speed videography, image analysis, lab experiments, and mathematical modelling to examine each phase of the seed ejection process, scientists have found that, as the cucumber ripens, fluid from the fruit is squeezed into the stem, causing it to stiffen and straighten, and changing the inclination of the fruit so that it is better suited for launching seeds over long distances.

The internal pressure in the fruit is so high that, once it detaches from the stem, the fluid and seeds within the shell are explosively launched in a powerful jet.

Using applied maths, we have just decoded one of the most rapid motions in the plant kingdom: the squirting cucumber. Published today in PNAS, our work reveals how the stem stiffens to optimise the angle at which the fruit squirts its seeds in a jet of slime: pic.twitter.com/qVLAcNpWpE

— Chris Thorogood (@thorogoodchris1) November 26, 2024

This finding has been described as having “important implications” for the understanding of the plant’s population dynamics, could help scientists better understand how plants might adapt to environmental changes such as temperature, rainfall patterns, and soil conditions due to climate change, and even inspire new technologies.

It also offers insights into evolutionary adaptations related to explosive fruit mechanisms.

Lead researcher Finn Box, from The University of Manchester, said that the Ecballium elaterium’s seed dispersal is a process that’s “almost unheard of in the plant world”.

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He added that this particular research is “the first comprehensive mechanical explanation for how the cucumber plant launches its seeds with remarkable speed and precision”.

Featured Image – UoM