Biomechanics of selected arborescent and shrubby monocotyledons

Abstract

Main aims of the study are a deepened understanding of the mechanically relevant (ultra-)structures and the mechanical behaviour of various arborescent and shrubby monocotyledons and obtaining the structure–function relationships of different structurally conspicuous parts in Dracaena marginata stems. The stems of five different “woody” monocotyledon species were dissected and the mechanical properties of the most noticeable tissues in the five monocotyledons and, additionally, of individual vascular bundles in D. marginata, were tested under tensile stress. Results for Young’s moduli and density of these tissues were assessed as well as the area, critical strain, Young’s modulus and tensile strength of the vascular bundles in Dracaena marginata. These analyses allowed for generating a model for the mechanical interaction of tissues and vascular bundles of the stem in D. marginata as well as filling major “white spots” in property charts for biological materials. Additionally we shortly discuss the potential significance of such studies for the development of branched and unbranched bio-inspired fibre-reinforced materials and structures with enhanced properties.

Branching morphology and biomechanics of ivy (Hedera helix) stem‐branch attachments

“…In D. reflexa and F. insignis (as tested by Masselter et al, 2011), fracture toughness values in the stem-branch attachments are in a similar range (with mean values of 10.53 and 9.32 kJ/m 2 , respectively) as the fracture toughness of "old" (DoF2) axes of H. helix, with a median value of 11.60 kJ/m 2 . This similarity indicates that self-supporting axes of relatively thin-stemmed, but otherwise very different plants (D. reflexa and F. insignis are monocotyledons with a fundamentally different stem anatomy from H. helix) (Haushahn et al, 2014;Hesse et al, 2016Hesse et al, , 2018Masselter et al, 2016) and a different ontogeny (D. reflexa does not produce climbing phases), have similar values of fracture toughness (a finding that also holds for Schefflera arboricola, data not shown). Therefore, it might be deduced that these comparable values result from similar mechanical constraints in self-supporting branched plants.…”

Multiple stressors drive convergent evolution of performance properties in marine macrophytes

“…The window screen kept the working sections from sticking to the herbarium press while drying. Fully desiccated seaweed tissues were then compared to a selection of terrestrial plant leaf and wood tensile properties taken from the literature (Lucas et al, 1991;Al-Sulaiman, 2000;Köhler & Spatz, 2002;Balsamo et al, 2003Balsamo et al, , 2006Jeong et al, 2009;Masselter et al, 2016) to determine how the properties of hydrated and fully desiccated macrophytes compare to those of other plant-derived materials.…”

Biological and biomimetic materials and surfaces

“…The paper by Masselter et al is devoted to the mechanically relevant structures and their mechanical behaviour in various arborescent and shrubby monocotyledons plants with an emphasis on the structure–function relationships in Dracaena marginata stems [ 11 ]. Based on the results of microscopy and mechanical testing, a model of mechanical interactions between tissues and vascular bundles in the D. marginata stem was generated, and the potential significance of the results for the development of branched and unbranched bio-inspired fibre-reinforced systems with enhanced properties is discussed.…”

“…In addition to the fields of botanical–biomimetic research, Wilhelm Barthlott has significantly contributed to many other fields of botany, for example, systematics and functional morphology of carnivorous plants and epiphytic cacti, biogeography/biodiversity and pollination biology (UV signatures). Some of these topics have become objects of interest in biomimetic research and are partially covered in articles in this Thematic Series [ 10 – 11 ].…”