nature
Jumping Beans
The vast southwest desert region of North America contains many fascinating wild plants, but none are more intriguing than the Mexican jumping bean. Jumping beans are commonly sold in novelty shops and by street vendors on both sides of the border, and probably everyone has marveled at their erratic movements, or heard a fabulous tale about them. In the regions where they grow wild, they are often collected by children and sold to local dealers who export them to the United States. The actual jumping "bean" is not a bean at all. It is produced by a native shrub or small tree that grows wild in the deserts of mainland Mexico and in the rugged Cape region of Baja California.