Plant spores use 'legs' to walk and jump

[Still Waters]

Researchers in France have discovered a strange new type of movement in plants - tiny spores that walk and jump.

The researchers used high speed cameras to find out how horsetail (Equisetum) spores dispersed.

This revealed that the microscopic spores' "legs" curl and uncurl when the moisture levels change, causing them to appear to crawl around or even to spring from the ground.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...onment-24025365