If you've ever eaten a freshly grown tomato from a local farmers market, you know how anomalous and quirky natural plants can look. But this time, we’re taking the oddness of Mother Nature to a whole new level.

Please meet the aliens of the plant kingdom that resemble little creatures you’d see in Ridley Scott’s movie. This is due to a condition known as vivipary, which basically, and now you may hold tight, refers to “live birth” in Latin. And it means precisely what it sounds like—it’s when the seeds start germinating while still attached to the mother plant.

So let’s dive into the fascinating world of vivipary in plants as compiled by Bored Panda, so we all know what gardeners' nightmares are made of, and the next time you eat your lovely salad, don't take it for granted.

Discover more in 30 Times People Encountered 'Vivipary' In Plants And Just Had To Share These Terrifying Pics

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#1

Mutant! My Sunflower Has Had An Unconventional Baby

Sunflower displaying vivipary with a smaller flower growing from its center in a garden setting.

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    #2

    This Tomato Sprouting Its Seeds

    Tomato with vivipary showing green seedlings sprouting directly from the fruit surface on a gray countertop.

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    #3

    Friend Of Mine Found An Apple With An Apple Tree Growing Out Of It

    Hand holding a green apple showing vivipary with small plant sprouts growing directly from the fruit.

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    In order to find out more about this unusual phenomenon, Bored Panda spoke to David Lifton, a gardener and blogger who runs the Instagram account “Young Ground Grows.” David said that vivipary is pretty common sight for him because he has been growing his own produce on his allotment garden for eight years.

    David explained that vivipary is a condition whereby the seeds of a fruit begin to sprout from inside the fruit. “Every seed contains growth hormones that are programmed to activate when the conditions are right (heat, light, humidity). And they normally do this once the fruit has dropped and has rotted away in the soil.”

    However, these growth hormones can be tricked to grow prematurely in situations where fruits are left out in hot or humid weather.
    #4

    Sprouting Strawberries? How Can I Fix This?

    Close-up photos of strawberries showing vivipary with green sprouts growing directly from the fruit surface.

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    #5

    An Avocado Tree Was Starting To Grow Inside My Avocado

    Close-up of an avocado exhibiting vivipary with sprouted roots growing directly from the seed inside the fruit.

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    #6

    Noticed Something That Looked Like A Worm In My Apple. Upon Further Inspection, It Turned Out To Be The Seeds Inside Sprouting

    Apple with vivipary showing seeds sprouting inside the fruit in an unusual plant germination phenomenon.

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    David also said that you can eat vivipary fruits, but you need “to cut around the sprouted seeds and check there's no softness on the skin, bad odor, or signs of mold, as this would indicate the fruit is off.”

    Even though vivipary-affected fruits and veggies look odd, to say the least, it turns out the condition is more common than we think. “If you grow your own pumpkins and squash and store them away for a few months, when you come to open them up, you may find the seeds have begun to sprout!”

    Plus, “if you live in the western hemisphere, you'll most likely find vivipary in supermarket peppers,” David said.
    #7

    Forgot About This Tomato While On Vacation And It Sprouted

    Tomato showing vivipary with green sprouts growing directly from the fruit, illustrating plant vivipary phenomenon.

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    #8

    This Strawberry's Seeds Started Sprouting While It Was Still On The Plant

    Strawberry showing vivipary with small plantlets growing directly on the fruit held among green leaves and stems.

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    #9

    Vivipary (Premature Germination) Of Corn Kernels. This Condition Is Most Likely To Occur When Kernels Have Dried Down To 20% Moisture Or Less And Are Then Rewetted By Rains

    Hand holding corn cobs showing vivipary with seeds sprouting green shoots in unusual plant growth.

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    Other places where you can find vivipary fruits is near the equator, “where length of day and temperatures stay consistent.” Here, David explained that “vivipary may be a far more common sight in lots of fruits,” not just sprouting tomatoes.
    #10

    This Bell Pepper Has Other Bell Peppers Growing Inside Of It

    Hand holding a red pepper showing vivipary with green seedlings growing inside among the seeds.

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    #11

    Live Birth

    Lemon showing vivipary with a green sprout emerging from the seed inside the fruit's segment.

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    #12

    The Seeds In My Butternut Squash Were Sprouting On The Inside

    Hand holding a squash showing vivipary with sprouted seeds inside the fruit on a wooden cutting board.

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    #13

    My Tomato's Seeds Have Started To Sprout From The Inside

    Tomato fruit showing vivipary with green shoots sprouting directly from its surface indoors on a wooden table.

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    #14

    I Find These Wonders Of Nature Often On My Plate

    Close-up photo of pomegranate seeds showing vivipary with small green sprouts emerging from inside the seeds.

    Just as I was about to gobble up these pomegranate seeds I saw some green sticking to one of the seeds and thought it could be the coriander greens I was handling the same time I peeled the pomegranate. But it turned out to be a sprouting seed, a fine example of viviparous behaviour. I have experienced in earlier in papaya, many citrus fruits, tomatoes, cantaloupes, watermelon and even mangoes

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    #15

    Mango Pit Began To Grow Into A Tree, While Still Inside The Mango (Full Branch Visible)

    Hands holding an opened fruit showing seeds sprouting inside, an example of vivipary in plants.

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    #16

    How Vivipary Is Happened In The Given Picture Of Mangifera Indica, Showing Emerges Of Seedling After Germination While The Fruit Still Attached With Mother Plant Identify This Abonormality......

    Unusual mango showing vivipary with a seedling sprouting directly from the fruit on a tree branch in natural surroundings.

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    #17

    Found A Sprouting Seed In My Tangerine

    Close-up of vivipary in plants showing seeds sprouting directly from an orange fruit segment in natural light.

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    #18

    A Cute Mutated Sunflower

    Close-up of a sunflower showing vivipary with abnormal sprouting of smaller flowers from the center of the bloom.

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    #19

    My Grapefruit Started Sprouting Inside Itself

    Grapefruit with vivipary showing tiny green sprouts growing from inside the fruit segments on a green cutting board.

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    #20

    The Seeds In This Tomato Started Sprouting

    Red tomato exhibiting vivipary with green sprouts growing directly from its skin on a dark granite surface.

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    #21

    I May Have Left This Butternut Squash In The Field Too Long

    Butternut squash showing vivipary with green sprouts emerging from the fruit surface in an outdoor garden setting.

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    #22

    Plants Are Amazing. Also Corn Is Bae

    Close-up of corn with seeds sprouting due to vivipary phenomenon in a home garden setting with blurred background.

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    #23

    I’ll Pass On Eating This Prego Tomato

    Close-up of tomato showing vivipary with green sprouts growing inside the fruit at various points.

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    #24

    Why Does This Eggplant Look So Unusual?

    Green pear-like fruit showing vivipary with baby plant sprouts emerging from a split on a textured brown background.

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    #25

    Nature Is Amazing

    Close-up of a plant displaying vivipary with green shoots growing from the seed head against a blurred background.

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    #26

    This Strawberries Seeds Have Started Sprouting

    Strawberry displaying vivipary with green plantlets growing directly from the fruit surface on a white plate.

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    #27

    A Tomato Growing More Tomatoes.

    Tomato showing vivipary with small green shoots growing directly from the fruit on a dark wooden surface.

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    #28

    I Just Opened This Butternut Squash And Found This Amazing Phenomena That I Never Thought I Would Ever See

    Pumpkin cut open showing seeds with vivipary, where sprouts grow inside the fruit before falling out naturally.

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    #29

    The Wonders Of Plant Vivipary

    Close-up of a plant bulb showing vivipary with new shoots growing directly from the parent plant in soil.

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    #30

    Vivipary

    Sliced papaya showing seeds with vivipary sprouts growing inside, illustrating vivipary in plants phenomenon.

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