Abstract
Thin vertical leaves often manifest twist. Perhaps the most prominent example of this is in Typha sp., but such twist is also apparent in Narcissus, Pancratium and many other genera. Such a blade is often referred to as a "spiral leaf". We will indicate the mechanical advantage afforded to the leaf by this arrangement, i.e. that it permits the leaf to achieve a greater height without losing stability, that is bending over due to its own weight. We quantify this gain and show how by a simple experiment it can be shown that the advantage is indeed utilized in nature. Typha domingensis is offered as an example.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 275-280 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Theoretical Biology |
Volume | 230 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 21 Sep 2004 |
Keywords
- Spiral leaf
- Stability
- Typha
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Statistics and Probability
- Modeling and Simulation
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Immunology and Microbiology
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
- Applied Mathematics