Active shape control by plants in dynamic environments

TL;DR

This paper models how plants actively control their shape in response to gravity and rotation, revealing stable configurations and dynamic behaviors that deepen understanding of plant biomechanics.

Contribution

It introduces a morphoelastic model capturing plant responses to combined stimuli, uncovering stable 3D equilibria and steady wave behaviors.

Findings

Plants converge to a universal planar shape without rotation.

Rotation leads to stable 3D dynamic equilibria.

Axial growth induces steady solitary wave behaviors.

Abstract

Plants are a paradigm for active shape control in response to stimuli. For instance, it is well-known that a tilted plant will eventually straighten vertically, demonstrating the influence of both an external stimulus, gravity, and an internal stimulus, proprioception. These effects can be modulated when a potted plant is additionally rotated along the plant's axis, as in a rotating clinostat, leading to intricate shapes. We use a morphoelastic model for the response of growing plants to study the joint effect of both stimuli at all rotation speeds. In the absence of rotation, we identify a universal planar shape towards which all shoots eventually converge. With rotation, we demonstrate the existence of a stable family of three-dimensional dynamic equilibria where the plant axis is fixed in space. Further, the effect of axial growth is to induce steady behaviors, such as solitary waves. Overall, this study offers new insight into the complex out-of-equilibrium dynamics of a plant in three dimensions and further establishes that internal stimuli in active materials are key for robust shape control.