Our safari today takes us out the front door and into the yard–no need to go any farther.
Jambo, boys ‘n’ girls! Mr. Nature here, with the hairy bittercress–a weed that grows right here in my own yard. And when it’s ripe, any little disturbance will cause it to shoot its seeds in all directions. It’s a kind of natural shotgun.
You might have some hairy bittercress handy, never having noticed it before. Give it a nudge and see what happens! (Disclaimer: nothing will happen if it isn’t ripe yet. Or if you just called somebody over to show him something cool.) Anyway, it’s fun to touch these plants and see them do their stuff.
I am told you can use hairy bittercress in your salad, but I’m not ready to trust it that far.
This reminds me of dandelions. I always pull them when the flower is still yellow because if it “blossoms out” all it takes is the slightest breeze to send its seeds all over my well-groomed dichondra lawn.