A plant that produces a faster batch than a pill is discovered

German scientists have conducted interesting research on a Chinese plant that ‘fires’ seeds.

According to research, the plant, also known as “Chinese witch hazel,” can fire seeds with the same force as a 19th-century gun at speeds of up to 12 meters per second. At this speed, these seeds can travel up to 18 meters in the air.

Used in traditional Chinese medicine to relieve irritation and inflammation, this plant emits its seeds so fast that it seems to be firing. Using special MRI scans and high-speed cameras, botanists at the University of Freiburg, Germany, discovered that the secret to Chinese witch hazel’s rapid and vigorous seed release is the inside of its fruit, which releases the seeds. Time not only expands and contracts rapidly, but spins the seed at an extraordinary speed of 26,000 revolutions per minute, like a bullet being fired in the barrel of a gun.

After studying Chinese witch hazel, experts have come to the conclusion that most plants of this type are either shrubs or small trees, while the places where they grow are generally dense and tall. There are forests with trees.

In such a case, to improve their chances of survival, it is necessary for their seeds to spread far. This need led the evolution of these plants in the direction in which plants that throw seeds faster and farther began to grow.