Seeds fired from a shotgun

The story goes that during the Indian Mutiny of the 19th Century, soldiers used the seeds of a Canna Indica when they ran out of bullets. Iain puts these small black seeds to the test and loads them into a shot gun cartridge. He aims at a target and shoots them through wood to see if the seeds will survive and later germinate.

Seeds are fantastic time capsules for plants. Many survive being eaten by animals, being buried or even burnt. They are able to lie dormant for many years, waiting until the conditions are favourable for the plants to grow.