I’m sure I remember hearing from a reliable source, i.e., a science program, that certain species of trees (or shrubs) will spontaneously combust in order to ensure the survival of the species. I’m being mercilessly teased about this, so I’d appreciate any information you can dig up.
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No offense, Donna, but this is a pretty dull way of putting it. A more interesting way is: Could the biblical burning bush that spoke to Moses have been a spontaneously combusting desert shrub? Answer: Maybe. Some claim there’s a plant in desert regions that every so often bursts into flame for no apparent reason. And here your idea of plant-based excitement was watching the leaves turn colors. Then again, I suppose if you were a desert home owner observing the spectacle of random ignition on the lawn some night, you might also think: Cheezit, couldn’t I just have crabgrass?
It’s possible some other plants eliminate the middleman. The leading candidate is Dictamnus albus, a flowering shrub that grows to a height of about two feet. Native to a wide swath of Europe and Asia, it’s commonly called “fraxinella,” “dittany,” and, more pertinently for our story, “gas plant” and “burning bush.” On warm days D. albus exudes vapor that readily ignites if you hold a match to it, and some say it ignites all by itself if the sun is hot enough. But–here’s where things start to get biblical–the vapor burns so quickly that it doesn’t consume or even damage the plant. This naturally brings to mind Exodus 3:2: “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto [Moses] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”
Get your butt back inside and finish your homework, kid. Some days I don’t know if I should laugh or call the police.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Slug Signorino.
