Abstract
Lotus leaves floating on water usually experience short-wavelength edge wrinkling that decays toward the center, while the leaves growing above water normally morph into a global bending cone shape with long rippled waves near the edge. Observations suggest that the underlying water (liquid substrate) significantly affects the morphogenesis of leaves. To understand the biophysical mechanism under such phenomena, we develop mathematical models that can effectively account for inhomogeneous differential growth of floating and freestanding leaves to quantitatively predict formation and evolution of their morphology. We find, both theoretically and experimentally, that the short-wavelength buckled configuration is energetically favorable for growing membranes lying on liquid, while the global buckling shape is more preferable for suspended ones. Other influencing factors such as the stem or vein, heterogeneity, and dimension are also investigated. Our results provide a fundamental insight into a variety of plant morphogenesis affected by water foundation and suggest that such surface instabilities can be harnessed for morphology control of biomimetic deployable structures using substrate or edge actuation.
- Received 11 October 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.038003
© 2020 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Focus
Explaining the Ruffles of Lotus Leaves
Published 24 January 2020
A new theory accurately predicts a wide range of leaf shapes and explains the differences between dry lotus leaves and those that grow on water.
See more in Physics