Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 3 hrs ago
Researchers trace the unusual shape of rose petals to geometry
Physicist Eran Sharon's team studied rose petals at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
They dissected petals, built mathematical models, ran computer simulations and tested rubber surfaces.
Rose petals have distinctive, almost triangular tips, unlike the smooth or wavy shapes common in other plants.
Differences in how plant tissues grow can create a mismatch between the shape they tend toward and the shape they can take, producing mechanical stress.
This kind of geometric mismatch helps explain many flower shapes, but it does not explain the isolated points on rose petals.
The team found that rose petals have a different geometric cause from other plant shapes.
The research addresses a long-standing puzzle about how rose blossoms form.
Researchers led by physicist Eran Sharon investigated why rose petals have distinctive, pointed shapes.
The team dissected rose petals, developed theoretical models, ran computer simulations and tested rubber surfaces.
They found that rose petals have a geometric cause different from the causes of other plant shapes.
The article says existing explanations based on Gauss incompatibility account for smooth, repeating patterns but not the isolated points found on rose petals.
- Who
- Physicist Eran Sharon and his team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
- What
- They investigated the geometry behind the distinctive shape of rose petals.
- When
- Not stated.
- Where
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is where Sharon’s lab is based; the research location is not stated.
- Why
- To understand why rose petals form pointed shapes unlike those of other plants.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Research team
- Eran Sharon and his lab
- Institution
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Research methods
- Petal dissection, theoretical models, computer simulations and rubber-surface experiments
- Rose petal shape
- Isolated points; neither periodic nor smooth
What people are saying
It’s simply impossible.
Sources
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