Plants have various ways of dispersing their seeds. The best known are undoubtedly the wind, which is called anemochoria, or liveliness. But there is also a much more impressive method: the balochoria, a form of explosive dispersion. She is the one using the plant we see in this video, an Oxalis corniculata or sorrel. When touched by a stick, the plant expels its seeds in half a second.

In this small, creeping plant, the seeds develop into thin, oblong capsules. When these capsules mature, their walls gradually dry out and accumulate strong mechanical stress. Then, a light touch, a vibration or sometimes just the heat of the sun is enough to cause the capsule to burst open.

The pod bursts and the seeds are shot in all directions at high speed, sometimes several meters away. This system allows the plant to quickly colonize its environment without depending on wind or animals.