• Featured in Physics

Mechanics of Climbing and Attachment in Twining Plants

Alain Goriely and Sébastien Neukirch
Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 184302 – Published 1 November 2006
Physics logo

Abstract

Twining plants achieve vertical growth by revolving around supports of different sizes on which they exert a pressure. This observation raises many intriguing questions that are addressed within the framework of elastic filamentary structures by modeling the stem close to the apex as a growing elastic rod. The analysis shows that vertical growth is achieved thanks to discrete contact points and regions with continuous contact, that the contact pressure creates tension in the stem as observed experimentally, and that there is a maximal radius of the pole around which a twiner can climb.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 10 July 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.184302

©2006 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Alain Goriely*

  • Department of Mathematics and Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA

Sébastien Neukirch

  • Laboratoire de Modélisation en Mécanique, CNRS & Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France

  • *Electronic address: goriely@math.arizona.edu

See Also

String Theory for Plants

David Lindley
Phys. Rev. Focus 18, 15 (2006)

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 97, Iss. 18 — 3 November 2006

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×