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| The petals are curved to show a "rainbow" |
In the early stage of hibiscus bud development, streaks began to form on the frontal cuticle in the proximal (purple) area of the petals
.
Photo Credit: University of Cambridge/Chiara A.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom discovered that flowers are using a material science phenomenon to produce exquisite three-dimensional petal patterns to attract pollinators
.
In civil engineering, "buckling" refers to the buckling of beams and columns leading to mechanical failure, and this is what engineers want to avoid
.
But for some plants, bending is being fully utilized
Flowers use several different strategies to attract pollinators
.
Chemical colors in pigments are just one of these strategies
This study shows that plants use bending to precisely change the surface deformation of hibiscus flower petals
.
The research results were published in the recent "Cell-Report"
The researchers tested the relevant model through a robotic system called ACME (Automatic Confocal Micro Extensometer), which is used to measure the mechanical properties of plants
.
They used a special force to stretch the immature hibiscus petals to see if it was possible to mechanically induce streaks
The results show that when mechanical stress is applied, streaks appear almost instantaneously
.
So it is the bending that causes the folds on the petal surface, not a slower biological process
Moreover, this buckling occurs in the stratum corneum, which is composed of two waxy surfaces
.
It is the different mechanical properties of these two layers that make buckling possible
Related paper information: https://doi.
