'Ruban a godets': an elastic model for ripples in plant leaves

The formation of ripples along the edge of plant leaves is studied using a model of an elastic strip with spontaneous curvature. The equations of equilibrium of the strip are established in an explicit form. A numerical method of solution is presented and carried out. Owing to the presence of geometric nonlinearities, several equilibrium configurations are found but we show that only one of them is physical. To our knowledge, this is the first investigation of ripples in plant leaves that is based on the equations of elasticity. (C) 2002 Academie des sciences/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.