77th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (November 24, 2024 — November 26, 2024)

V2693525: The fluid-mechanical secrets of the squirting cucumber (Ecballium Elaterium)

Authors

• Dominic Vella, University of Oxford
• Finn Box, University of Manchester
• Derek E. Moulton, University of Oxford
• Yuvraj Bhagotra, University of Oxford
• Tristan Lowe, University of Manchester
• Alfonso A. Castrejón-Pita, University of Oxford
• Alain Goriely, University of Oxford
• Chris T. Thorogood, University of Oxford

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2024.GFM.V2693525

The squirting cucumber, ecballium elaterium, has an unusual means of dispersing its seeds: when ripe it squirts them at distances of up to 12m from the mother plant. This is powered by fluid mechanics: the pressure within the fruit drives the seeds at speeds of up to 20m/s, but the fluid mechanics of this process means that later seeds are not ejected so quickly and end up being spread out from the furthest to the mother plant. Similarly, the fruit seems to 'know' about the optimal angle with which to launch its seeds in a gravitational field.