POPPING PLANT!

‘Popping Cress’ photo by GT1976-own work CC BY-SA 4.0

We had a weed in our yard in Seattle that was nothing short of exasperating!  (From the Latin word exasperate- ‘irritated to anger’).  New Oxford American Dictionary.  You got that right. This weed, called a Popping Cress jettisons its seeds when you touch it!  It has an explosive seed pod!!  The seeds reach a speed of 22 miles an hour in one half a millisecond spreading the seeds in an area three feet in diameter!!!  In other words, you do the weed a favor when you try to pull it out of the ground by spreading its seeds.    

If you look closely at the photo above, you can see these seed capsules on the plant.  They look like purplish green toothpicks standing upright around the flower.  One touch or slight breeze the pods explode sending the seeds flying!  This ballistic dispersal strategy is known as ballochory.

On the bright side, the plant is edible!  Its tender greens have a mild and peppery flavor.  You can add them to your salad.  They are full of vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, beta-carotene, and antioxidants.

This plant reminded me of ‘gossip’.  (Casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.).  New Oxford American Dictionary.  Gossip is like the seeds of the Popping Cress!  One word of gossip in a group and bam, it explodes to others around you.  Have you ever been the victim of gossip?  I have.  I was so devastated by what I heard it made me sick!!!  I got mono, infectious mononucleosis also known as glandular fever.  It was a painful time, both mentally and physically.  Gossip hurts! 

The scripture says, ‘a gossip separates close friends.’  Proverbs 16:28. When I recovered, I left my volunteering and ‘friends’ to return to graduate school.  Ultimately, thank God, He ‘worked’ the entire painful event for my good!   ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’  Romans 8:28.

A good way to avoid ‘gossip’ is to ask yourself if your conversation involves anyone who can actually address the problem you are discussing.  If not, then what you are talking about is gossip.  It is also unloving to talk negatively behind someone’s back instead of speaking to them directly. 

Meditate on this scripture: ‘Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.’  Ephesians 4:29.

And remember, ‘no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.’  James 3:8.

So we pray!  ‘Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.’
Psalm 141:3.

If you want to watch the seeds explode, click on the following link:

‘Bittercress Expelling Seeds’.