Finessing the fracture energy barrier in ballistic seed dispersal
- 19 March 2012
- journal article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Vol. 109 (14), 5166-5169
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1119737109
Abstract
Fracture is a highly dissipative process in which much of the stored elastic energy is consumed in the creation of new surfaces. Surprisingly, many plants use fracture to launch their seeds despite its seemingly prohibitive energy cost. Here we use Impatiens glandulifera as model case to study the impact of fracture on a plant's throwing capacity. I. glandulifera launches its seeds with speeds up to 4 m/s using cracks to trigger an explosive release of stored elastic energy. We find that the seed pod is optimally designed to minimize the cost of fracture. These characteristics may account for its success at invading Europe and North America.Keywords
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