Macroscopic and microscopic mechanical behaviors of climbing tendrils

Tendril-bearing climbing plants must recur to the tendril helices with chiral perversion or dual chirality for climbing and to obtain sun exposure. Despite researchers’ prolonged fascination with climbing tendrils since Darwin’s time and even earlier, why the soft and slender tendrils can bear heavy loads such as the self-weight of a plant or additional load caused by rain remains elusive. In this paper, we take towel gourd tendrils as an example and investigate the macroscopic and microscopic mechanical behaviors of tendrils through experiments and simulations. Our study indicates that the tendril filament exhibits rubber-like hyperelastic behaviors and can particularly endure large elongation, which is mainly attributed to the superelasticity of the cellulose fibril helix contained in the cell wall. Combination of the tendril helical structure with dual chirality or chiral perversion at a macroscale and a cellulose filament helix at a subcellular level creates superior elasticity for biological species relying on support and climbing. This study provides deep insight into the structure–property relationship of climbing tendrils, and the relationship is useful for the bioinspired design of composite systems with superior elasticity.