Fascination of the Hornbeam tree lies in the way it beautifully it's buds burst revealing the way it compresses, fully-formed leaf tissue was folded in bud through all the winter, awaiting spring for rising sap to inflate the bud. The pattern of leaf folding has been greatly studied by mathematicians who are interested in biomimetics, that is the study of natural mechanisms for technological things. Such studies have suggested ways that large solar panels used on spacecraft can be more efficiently folded. Thus aiding efficiency of the early stages of flight before they are used. Is that not fascinating.
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@suebur
Interests vary. Reading Photography. Life on earth.
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