18-7-2022 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - SQUIRTING CUCUMBER (Ecballium elaterium)

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/126817730

15-7-2022 PEGO MARJAL, ALICANTE - SQUIRTING CUCUMBER (Ecballium elaterium)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/162161-Ecballium-elaterium

20-9-2018 ALARCOS, LA MANCHA - SQUIRTING CUCUMBER (Ecballium elaterium)

Ecballium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cucurbitaceae containing a single species, Ecballium elaterium, also called the squirting cucumber, as well as the noli me tangere[citation needed] and its English translation touch-me-not[citation needed]. Its unusual common name derives from the ripe fruit squirting a stream of mucilaginous liquid containing its seeds as a means of seed dispersal, an example of rapid plant movement.

E. elaterium is native to Europe, northern Africa, and temperate areas of Asia, and is considered an invasive species. It is grown as an ornamental plant elsewhere, and in some places it has naturalized.

The tissue in the fruit of the Ecballium elaterium that surrounds the seeds is made of large, thin-walled cells facilitating the propulsive release of seeds by "squirting". Pressure to expel the seeds is created by the increased concentration of a glucoside called elaterinidin in the sap of the fruit tissue's cells, leading to a turgor pressure of up to 27 atms. The seeds are projected as far as 7–8 m (23–26 ft). The pressure builds up until its force detaches the fruit from the stalk. At the same time, the pericarp contracts and the fruit and seeds are ejected through the hole produced by detachment. The pressure-building method may depend on the phloem sieve tubes, indicating that the squirting mechanism can be decreased in water stressed conditions.

8-7-2018 TABLAS DE DAIMIEL, LA MANCHA - SQUIRTING CUCUMBER (Ecballium elaterium)

Ecballium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cucurbitaceae containing a single species, Ecballium elaterium, also called the squirting cucumber, as well as the noli me tangere[citation needed] and its English translation touch-me-not[citation needed]. Its unusual common name derives from the ripe fruit squirting a stream of mucilaginous liquid containing its seeds as a means of seed dispersal, an example of rapid plant movement.

E. elaterium is native to Europe, northern Africa, and temperate areas of Asia, and is considered an invasive species. It is grown as an ornamental plant elsewhere, and in some places it has naturalized.

The tissue in the fruit of the Ecballium elaterium that surrounds the seeds is made of large, thin-walled cells facilitating the propulsive release of seeds by "squirting". Pressure to expel the seeds is created by the increased concentration of a glucoside called elaterinidin in the sap of the fruit tissue's cells, leading to a turgor pressure of up to 27 atms. The seeds are projected as far as 7–8 m (23–26 ft). The pressure builds up until its force detaches the fruit from the stalk. At the same time, the pericarp contracts and the fruit and seeds are ejected through the hole produced by detachment. The pressure-building method may depend on the phloem sieve tubes, indicating that the squirting mechanism can be decreased in water stressed conditions.