Biomechanics of selected arborescent and shrubby monocotyledons

• Tom Masselter,
• Tobias Haushahn,
• Samuel Fink and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1602–1619, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.154

• and the “compactness” of the stem (i.e., many vascular bundles in the stem and a very distinct boundary between stem and branch) is higher in Freycinetia insignis, a plant with a branching morphology very similar to D. surculosa, than the stress at rupture and the “compactness” in D. reflexa. This

• might be mirrored in an axial Young’s modulus significantly higher in D. surculosa (similar to Freycinetia insignis) than in D. reflexa. It can also be hypothesized that the lack of such a “compactness” in the stem of D. marginata (see Figure 1A) and in D. fragrans [11][12] can be correlated to a lower

Functional morphology, biomechanics and biomimetic potential of stem–branch connections in Dracaena reflexa and Freycinetia insignis

• Tom Masselter,
• Sandra Eckert and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 173–185, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.21

• in arborescent monocotyledons. For a better and quantitative understanding of the functional morphology of branch–stem-junctions in arborescent monocotyledons, we investigated the two species Dracaena reflexa and Freycinetia insignis. While D. reflexa is able to develop large arborescent forms with

• using solutions inspired by plant ramifications, e.g., in automotive and aerospace engineering, architecture, sports equipment and prosthetic manufacturing. Keywords: Biomimetics; branching; Dracaena reflexa; Freycinetia insignis; monocotyledons; Introduction One of the most conspicuous features of

• morphology and mechanics of branch–stem-junctions have yet not been analysed quantitatively. For our studies we chose two branched arborescent monocotyledons, Dracaena reflexa and Freycinetia insignis, in order to answer the following questions: How are the fibrous bundles in the main stem connected to those