Seedpods

Bang!

I awoke with a start. Was that a gunshot? In this country it would
certainly not be unlikely to hear a gunshot. But why at this time of
night? It's only a little before midnight. The light of the guard sweeps
across campus. I'm a bit nervous.

As I drift off, I hear the noise again. Bang! And I hear what sounds
like an echoing.

I'm half asleep and I cannot make sense of what I hear. I reassure
myself that it is fairly distant still and go back to sleep.

The next night I hear the same sound. And I hear it again. This time I
am more awake and analyze the sound better. Maybe the bang is a seed pod
exploding in the treetops and maybe the echoing sound is the seeds being
dispersed like raindrops onto the thick jungle bushes below.

Just yesterday I found a tree that had a pod close enough to pick. The
pod is about eight inches long and three inches wide. It is super stiff
and under tension. I pick it, then throw it on the ground on its tip.

The pod pops open and disperses some seeds.

Mystery solved.