Published on 03 June 2012
There is a pretty cool video here on ballistic seed dispersal. If you don’t know what this is, go check it out - basically, some plants propgate by exploding their seed sacs so that the seeds jump as far from the base as possible. It’s pretty fun to watch.
I once read an Arthur C. Clarke story about an astronaut who had died on the moon. Some people went to find out where he had gone, and found that his helmet had been broken in. They couldn’t figure out why - but they were astounded to notice that he had been in a garden, on the moon, in the open. The garden was full of cacti. He had found a way to make a plant that would make oxygen, and live in the sterile environment of the moon.
Just as they figure this out, one of the cacti explodes - and seeds go everywhere. Not caught by the gravity field, they have the same force as bullets, and the mysterious death is explained. Pretty awesome story, I think.
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