MINI BELIEVE IT OR NOT –

The Sandbox Tree, Hura Crepitans, has a trunk covered in thorns and its fruit explodes when ripe.

  • The trees can grow to 60 meters (200 feet)
  • They’re native to tropical regions of North and South America
  • The fruit is a large capsule, and when it’s ripe it explodes and launches seeds at 70 meters per second (160 mph)
sandbox tree

By M S via Flickr

Mini BION Extras

  • The sandbox tree isn’t the only plant that disperses seeds in this way
  • It’s called explosive dehiscence

MINI BION

“BIONs” – short for Believe It or Not – is the word we use at Ripley’s to refer to anything that is unbelievable and worthy to become part of Ripley’s lore and collection.