How are the seeds of the squirting cucumber dispersed?
After the squirting cucumber ripens, the juicy tissue bearing the seeds turns into a sticky liquid that fills the inside of the fruit and strongly presses against the rind with turgor pressure. If the fruit is touched at this point, it bursts with a “bang”, shooting the seeds and sticky liquid 40-50 chi away.
Morphological characteristics of the squirting cucumber
A trailing herb; roots elongated, thick and sturdy. Stem rough, with short bristles, about 1.5 m long. Petiole somewhat thick and sturdy, 5-15 cm long, like the stem densely covered with short bristles, with longitudinal stripes; leaves simple, alternate, blade ovate-oblong or hastate, margins toothed or wavy, 8-20 cm long, 6-15 cm wide, margins wavy or more or less lobed, with coarse teeth, upper surface pale green, with rough wart-like dots and white short bristles, lower surface grayish white, densely covered with white short pubescence, veins raised on the lower surface, densely covered with white short bristles; apex somewhat obtuse, basal sinus semicircular, 1-2 cm wide, 0.5-1 cm deep, sometimes nearly truncate.
Male flowers borne in racemes, peduncle somewhat thick and sturdy, densely covered with yellowish-brown long pubescence and short bristles, pedicel short, slender, 1-3 cm long, with a small bract at the base; calyx lobes lanceolate, 5-6 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, the outside densely covered with pubescence and short bristles; corolla yellow, up to 3 cm in diameter when spread out, lobes ovate-oblong, apex with a small pointed tip, 3-veined; staminal filaments 3 mm long, base with long pubescence. Fruit pale green, oblong or ovate-oblong, 4-5 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm wide, rough, with yellowish-brown short bristles, both ends obtuse, extremely swollen after ripening, opening a hole at the base after detachment from the pedicel, with the pulp contracting to shoot out the seeds and fruit liquid together. Seeds brown or nearly black, about 4 mm long.
The sticky liquid of the squirting cucumber is toxic, so it is best not to touch its sticky liquid; this sticky liquid is a good material for decorating hedges and walls.