What makes a jumping bean move?
A moving bean is enough to make anyone curious and, year by year, the dumping bean, alias the Mexican jumping bean, alias the bronco bean is the subject of one of Andy’s most popular questions. It is a long, long time since he has answered the question in the column. Many readers ask about the dumping bean and Andy hopes that they will not feel sad or mad because they were not selected in today’s column. Remember, you can ask Andy as many questions as there are jumping beans in all the world. The story of the dumping bean begins in Central or South America. It is a two part story between a plant and an insect. The plant is a member of the Euphorbiaceae family. These plants are also known as the spurges. The castor oil plant is a spurge and so is the dainty snow on the mountain which grows in the garden. The handsome, red leafed poinsettia is also a spurge. Most of the spurges have a milky .white sap and some of them that grow in the tropics produce a latex which can be used to make a r
