DAY 157 (9 SEPTEMBER) – Exploding cucumber (Ecballium elaterium) (La Janda Wetlands, Spain)
I made one of my regular visits to the local wetlands today, hoping to find interesting birdlife. There were huge flocks of white storks, cattle egrets, cranes, the occasional lone bird of prey and some very colourful small birds balancing on the tops of long grasses – African stonechats I think. But all impossible to capture with an iPhone camera of course.
So I settled for this strange plant – which turns out to have a strange habit. When ripe, it squirts out a stream of liquid containing its seeds. Hence its name. Hmmm.
