Journal
JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL BIOLOGY
Volume 230, Issue 2, Pages 275-280Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2004.05.018
Keywords
spiral leaf; stability; Typha
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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. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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