Identifying the Seeds of My Childhood (Literally)

When I was a little kid, wandering through the empty fields down the road from my parents’ house, there were two plants (in particular) that always fascinated me when I ran across them. One was a long, pointy pod that I used to pull apart until it looked like an open mouth. And the other was a strange little corkscrew that used to wind its way into my socks.

I’m not quite sure why those two were most interesting to me, but I suspect it’s because they were plants that looked like something else; something almost animal. And the duality amused my little mind. (As, I suspect, did the fact that they both seemed like they’d work pretty well as weapons.)

Turns out (with a little help from ThisIsColossal) that they were actually the exact same thing. Fantastic.

This is the seed of Erodium cicutarium (stork’s bill or filaree) which upon having contact with water will bore or drill itself into the ground in order for the seed to sprout. Watch closely as the seed will reverse itself several times. Possibly to bury itself further in to the ground.

Attribution(s): “Erodium cicutarium” by  Didier Descouens, own work and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons; “Illustration Erodium cicutarium0” is licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.