Habilla - Hura Crepitans
Euphorbiaceae

For quite some time we've noticed, along the outlying beaches and surf spots, a seed that is commonly thrown up along the high-tide line.

Asking the locals, we found that these seeds, pictured below, come from a spiny-trunked tree commonly called the Habilla, Ceiba, Quauhtlatzil ("explosive tree") or Sandbox Tree.

During the drying process, the sectional seed pod begins to exert pressure upon itself, culminating in a small explosion of the individual sections, some of which can be launched a distance of several meters.

We found this out one evening while watching a movie at home... we had a couple of seed pods drying on the floor, and suddenly we heard a cracking shot and we were pelted with several of the semi-circular dried sections as that particular pod built up enough pressure to explode. Fortunately, neither of us sustained a direct hit. We now keep our pods out on the porch!

The Habilla is native to tropical America and the Antilles. The trunks of the Habilla have been used to carve out canoes and the wood used in carpentry. The sap is highly poisonous and has been used to stun river fish and poison darts.

Books on Nature in Mexico