Ido Kron
Donkey's spit
This is the fruit of Ecballium elaterium. The name in Hebrew is "Donkey’s spit", and I'll tell you why:
The fruit is composed out of a stem, and oval ball. The ball contains juices and seeds, and as the fruit matures, it builds a very high pressure of juices inside.
When the fruit is ripe, it becomes a bit yellow, and the connection between the ball and the stem becomes very fragile. A slight touch or shake to that structure will cause the ball explode and to break from the stem, and the trapped juices inside will burst out in high pressure. This mechanism can spit the seeds out of the fruit for a distance of at least 6 meters.
At first they wanted to call it “Donkey’s ejaculation”, but they changed their minds…
The plant’s juice is poisonous. It was used to treat Jaundice, skin infections, skin-fungi, ear infections and constipation. It is also useful against dripping nose… I didn’t check it myself. Didn’t have Jaundice yet ;-))
Ecballium elaterium
ירוקת-חמור מצויה
Donkey's spit
This is the fruit of Ecballium elaterium. The name in Hebrew is "Donkey’s spit", and I'll tell you why:
The fruit is composed out of a stem, and oval ball. The ball contains juices and seeds, and as the fruit matures, it builds a very high pressure of juices inside.
When the fruit is ripe, it becomes a bit yellow, and the connection between the ball and the stem becomes very fragile. A slight touch or shake to that structure will cause the ball explode and to break from the stem, and the trapped juices inside will burst out in high pressure. This mechanism can spit the seeds out of the fruit for a distance of at least 6 meters.
At first they wanted to call it “Donkey’s ejaculation”, but they changed their minds…
The plant’s juice is poisonous. It was used to treat Jaundice, skin infections, skin-fungi, ear infections and constipation. It is also useful against dripping nose… I didn’t check it myself. Didn’t have Jaundice yet ;-))
Ecballium elaterium
ירוקת-חמור מצויה