Oxalis Stricta, The Seed Machine Gun

When you stop and look around, you’ll find a world full of beauty and miracles, and magic. Capturing this very magic on film, Arun Kumar N, has brought to us the artistry of nature we miss out on in the pursuit of the perfect life.

The Oxalis Stricta plant, native to North America and parts of Eurasia, ejects seed-dispersal-by-wildlife-forests after maternity in a particularly interesting manner, shown in the clip. This sudden bullet-like explosion of seeds is what makes the plant so utterly unique.

Oxalis stricta commonly known as tall wood sorrel is a flowering plant in the buckwheat family. The plant produces small yellow flowers and heart-shaped leaves. Its most remarkable feature is its seed pods that explosively dehisce when dry, shooting seeds up to 10 feet away. This mechanism called explosive dehisence helps the plant colonize new areas rapidly. The seeds are covered in a sticky coating that helps them adhere to soil and animal fur. Traditional medicine uses Oxalis species to treat scurvy due to high vitamin C content.

The Oxalis plant has stems that grow in a zigzag pattern and produces small flowers in shades of yellow or white. The species is widespread across temperate and tropical regions and has become naturalized in many parts of the world. The plant is sometimes eaten in salads for its sour taste due to oxalic acid content though large quantities can be toxic. Gardeners often struggle with this hardy weed that grows rapidly in lawns and vegetable gardens. Botanical research on Oxalis species includes studies on photosynthesis and plant genetics and the plant model organism research conducted at universities and botanical gardens worldwide.

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