From my childhood, I can vividly recall the days that the school cafeteria would serve watermelon. As opposed to the regular peaches in syrup, watermelon offered a fresh alternative, as well as lunchtime entertainment. From nearly every cafeteria table echoed the same challenge: “I dare you to eat the seeds and see if a watermelon grows inside your belly!” By about the fourth grade, we had perfected the art of seed swallowing, and, since no one was walking around with a watermelon shaped stomach, we concluded that a watermelon could not grow inside of a person. But who’s to say that another plant could not take root inside the human body, for instance a fir tree?

According to Russian reports, doctors removed a tiny fir tree from a man’s lung. Twenty-eight year old Artyom Sidorkin consulted with a doctor after coughing up blood and experiencing severe chest pains. After X-ray films displayed a tumor inside of Sidorkin’s lung, doctors made a diagnosis of lung cancer and rushed Sidorkin to the hospital for the surgical removal of the mass.

Once Sidorkin’s operation commenced, doctors were surprised to discover that the mass was not lung cancer at all. Before removing a large part of the lung, surgeon Vladimir Kamashev investigated the tissue and established that the mass was a 5 cm-long spruce tree, quite the opposite of cancer. After Kamashev’s assistant confirmed that he was not suffering from a hallucination, he continued the surgery and removed the spruce that was touching the capillaries of the lung.

Although some biologists exhibit skepticism, doctors believe that Sidorkin inhaled a seed, which later sprouted inside of him. The fir tree was noted to be firm and healthy, with bright green needles, just as if the seed had been planted in fresh soil and sunlight. The difference in the fir tree found in Sidorkin’s lung and a fir tree growing in the ground is the fact that spruce in the lung had no roots.

While Mr. Sidorkin breathes a sigh of relief, scientists are left to debate the possibilities of seed germination inside of humans. As for the elementary school children everywhere wondering if a watermelon will grow inside of them, well, probably not, but a tree is a whole different story!

Discussion Question: How could have the spruce tree become green? What do plants require for the leaves to become green? Why do you think the spruce tree had no roots?

Link to News Articles: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/apr/urals-lung-operation-fir-tree

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Tree-Found-In-Lung-Seed-Sprouted-Inside-Russian-Mans-Chest/Article/200904315262048?f=rss