Microspines in tropical climbing plants : a small-scale fix for life in an obstacle course
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.
| Veröffentlicht in: | Journal of experimental botany. - 1985. - 73(2022), 16 vom: 12. Sept., Seite 5650-5670 |
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| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Weitere Verfasser: | , , |
| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2022
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| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | Journal of experimental botany |
| Schlagworte: | Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Attachment GrowBots climbing plants microspines robotics searcher stems sliding force static force |
| Zusammenfassung: | © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. Many climbing plants have microspines on their stems, which facilitate attachment and prevent slipping and falling from host plant supports. Extending via growth through complex environments and anchoring stems to substrates with minimal contact forces are key benefits for climbing plants. Microspines are also highly desirable features for new technologies and applications in soft robotics. Using a novel sled-like device, we investigated static and sliding attachment forces generated by stems in 10 species of tropical climber from French Guiana differing in size and climbing habit. Eight species showed higher static and sliding forces when their stems were pulled in the basal direction against a standard surface than in the apical direction. This anisotropic behaviour suggests that tropical climbers have evolved different ratchet-like mechanisms that allow easy sliding forwards but are resistant to slipping downwards. The presence of a downwards 'stick-and-slip' phenomenon, where static attachment is not significantly stronger than maximal sliding attachment, was present in most species apart from three showing relatively weak attachment by microspines. This indicates that diverse microspine attachment strategies exist in climbing plants. This diversity of functional properties offers a range of potential design specifications for climbing strategies on different substrates for artificial climbing artefacts |
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| Beschreibung: | Date Completed 14.09.2022 Date Revised 20.10.2022 published: Print Citation Status MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1460-2431 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/jxb/erac205 |