A Conversation about Spitters

Back in the day, when my brother used to take my Auntie Ruth to the pro wrestling matches in Albany, he always asked for seats outside the spitting zone. Now, one would think this referred to fans who were overly exuberant and expectorated toward the ring. Not so. The wrestlers would interact with the crowd and spitting came from the ring, not toward. That digression is the result of a moment of nostalgia inspired by observing plants in the wild acting in a similar manner. Their purpose is to disperse seeds, though, not agitate fans. Three in particular come to mind: Wood sorrel ( Oxalis stricta), Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), and  common Witch Hazel ( Hamamelis virginiana). There are many other plants that are spitters, maybe a topic for another day... mosses, mushrooms, yellow violets, birdsfoot trefoil, etc.

My trio includes a low growing weedy groundcover, a tall swamp dwelling weed, and a small tree. The first is familiar to anyone with a garden. The wood sorrel is also called the “American Shamrock”. It isn't a clover. The difference is this: clover's triad of leaves have an oval shape, and the oxalis leaflets are heart-shaped. The oxalis family is so called because they contain oxalic acid, potentially harmful to kidney and liver. This gives the sorrel a lemony tang, and it's a favorite of foragers because it's almost everywhere, and refreshing. Just be careful until you taste test for side effects. My favorite feature of this little plant is the fact that it spits. The seeds are stored in a little capsule that stands upright on the stem, surrounded by the tiny yellow flowers, looking like a miniature rocket set to launch. (I wonder if NASA stole the idea.) The capsule, once the seeds are ripe, will explode at a touch. There is a spring mechanism involved, which shoots the seeds eight to ten feet from the plant. And if you listen closely, you can hear them pop. It's kind of a snapping sound. It's called “explosive dehiscence,” and the Jewel weed use the same system.

Somewhat larger, the “Touch Me Not”, or Jewel Weed, grows from two to five feet in height, depending on the moisture of the site. The flowers are usually orange and are suspended from the stem like exotic earrings. But it's the seed pods that give it its name. They look to me like miniature Okra pods, and when touched each section of the pod curls back to propel the seeds sometimes as much as six feet distant. The seeds are the only really edible part of the plant, if you can figure out how to collect them. They have a walnut flavor. The rest of the plant is valued as a way to soothe skin damaged by stinging nettle or poison ivy.

The final favorite is the Common Witch Hazel. It's a small tree/large shrub that likes to live in the woods as an understory plant. These guys use “ballistic dispersal.” As the  woody seed pods dry out, they shrivel and shrink, which increases pressure somehow, so when the seeds ripen, the pods explode and fling the seeds as far as thirty feet away. There'e even a spine built into the pod to put a rotational spin on the little projectile and increase distance. The seeds, for those who like to forage, have a pistachio flavor. Again, remember that they're tricky to collect. Here's a good article to check out online from a reliable source.

https://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/explosive_seeds_and_spores