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Updated: Nov 4, 2025
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Published on: May 23, 2020
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Nutations in growing plant shoots as a morphoelastic flutter instability.
D Agostinelli1, G Noselli1, A DeSimone1,2
1SISSA-International School for Advanced Studies, 34136 Trieste, Italy.
Summary
Plant shoots exhibit spontaneous oscillations, or circumnutations, which can be modeled as a Hopf bifurcation in growing rods. These findings are robust across different growth models, aiding bioinspired robotics.
Area of Science:
- Mathematical Biology
- Biomechanics
- Robotics
Background:
- Plant shoots display spontaneous oscillations known as circumnutations, first observed by Darwin.
- These circumnutations are gaining interest for developing bioinspired robotic systems.
- Understanding the mechanics of plant growth can inform engineering designs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To interpret plant shoot circumnutations as a Hopf-type bifurcation in a growing morphoelastic rod.
- To analyze the characteristics of these oscillations using a 3D model.
- To investigate the influence of different growth models on the observed phenomena.
Main Methods:
- Developed a three-dimensional computational model of a growing morphoelastic rod.
- Employed numerical simulations to analyze the dynamics of the system.
- Varied growth models within the simulations to assess their impact.
Main Results:
- The spontaneous oscillations of plant shoots can be mathematically described as a Hopf bifurcation.
- The characteristic period of these flutter-like oscillations was analyzed.
- Key features of the oscillations were found to be robust despite variations in the growth model.
Conclusions:
- Circumnutations in growing plant shoots can be understood through the lens of morphoelasticity and bifurcation theory.
- The observed oscillatory behavior is largely independent of specific growth model details.
- This research provides insights for the design of bioinspired robots capable of complex movements.
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