Video: Exotic plants know how to walk and jump

Researchers have discovered a strange, new type of movement in plants: tiny spores of the hippopotamus (also known as horsetail) can walk and jump.

Philippe Marmottant, head of the research team from Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble (France), initially examined the spores of the bandits under the microscope and observed their movements.

Only when combining microscopes with a high-speed camera, Mr. Marmottant discovered, spores of the bandit tree not only moved but also walked and jumped.

Anomalous movement type of spores due to 4-foot sensitive moisture control. The legs like this elastic fiber change shape when moisture changes. Specifically, the spores of the spores fold around the main body when it is wet and stretch out when the weather is dry.

The twisting and opening of the scrolling feet helps the spores of the bandits to walk and bounce off the ground like insects. Researchers have never observed this mechanism of movement in spores of other plant species.