Uncovering the mechanical secrets of the squirting cucumber

Rapid movement is rare in the plant kingdom, but a prerequisite for ballistic seed dispersal. A particularly dramatic example of rapid motion in plants is the squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium) which launches its seeds explosively via a high-pressure jet. Despite intriguing scientists for centuries, the exact mechanism of seed dispersal and its effect on subsequent generations remain poorly understood. Here, through a combination of experimentation, high-speed videography, quantitative image analysis, and mathematical modeling, we develop a full mechanical description of the process. We quantify the turgor pressure driving ballistic ejection, and uncover key mechanical interactions between the fruit and stem both prior to and during seed ejection, including the unique feature that fluid is redistributed from fruit to stem prior to ejection, a developmental event that goes against the paradigm of rapid seed ejection but which is of key importance in successful dispersal for Ecballium. Combining modeling elements, we quantify and simulate the ballistic trajectories of seeds, which are dispersed over distances greater than 2,000 times their length. We demonstrate how together these mechanical features contribute to a nearly uniform distribution of seeds away from the parent plant. Parametric variation of key developmental events in the modeling framework indicates how a suite of adaptive features in combination drives the spatial distribution of offspring over consecutive generations, and suggests that ballistic seed dispersal has a stabilizing effect on population dynamics by reducing intraspecific competition.