pelting did n’t happen too often when I lived in Southern California , but when it did , I always loved the glow it contribute to the garden .
And literally , too — the astray - spread dapple of volunteer nasturtium vines seemed to sparkle with thousands of Swarovski crystals after a good rainstorm .
It ’s a sight to lay eyes on if you bend down and really take notice …
Sometimes the raindrops vagabond off the farewell , or bounce as soon as they down , but many will pool on the lily pad - corresponding surface and stand still until a breeze blows them off . They may even form patterns along the vena , as if Mother Earth just finished bedazzling her blanket of nasturtium .
No matter how firmly or how much it rains , they just do n’t seem to get pissed . And it left me wondering … are genus Nasturtium leaves waterproof ?
Understanding how superhydrophobic plants work (the “lotus effect”)
Unlike most leave in the botanical world , water does n’t spread and soak into a nasturtium leaf . When water hit the surface , the droplet burst into many smaller droplets that bounce along until they finally settle down or fall off .
It ’s an extraordinary adaptation that only a few plants display , the most well - known being the lotus leaf , along with lady ’s mantle , prickly pear , taro plant , Elmer Rice , and sure cane species .
The extreme pee repellency of these industrial plant ( or superhydrophobicity , in scientific lingo ) is the result of lifelike organic evolution to guarantee their survival .
In the jungles and other besotted surroundings where these plant life boom , sun is very limited . Frequent pelter wash grunge and rubble onto the plants , leaving bantam subatomic particle that forestall light from click the leave of absence .
Since these corpuscle can intervene with photosynthesis , nanostructures on the leaves inhibit water from take in .
What happens instead is the droplets roll across the surface collecting grunge and other contaminants in their path , in essence cleaning the leaves — a phenomenon known as the “ lotus core . ”
The lotus effect also protects plants from pathogens ( like fungi or algae ) that render to adhere to the leaves . And this radical pee repellency help clean the bodies of insect like butterfly , dragonfly , and cicada . Think of it as a biologic housekeeping serving !
Though nasturtium look and palpate sleek tranquil , zoom in on a leaf and you ’ll line up a landscape of microscopic muckle - like structures . Each “ plenty ” is cover in waxy nanocrystals that are approximative 1 nm ( micromillimeter ) in diamater .
The rocky texture is there for a reason : it ’s more water - repellent than a smooth surface would be .
These nanocrystals trap melodic line between the leaf and water droplet , forcing the water system to bead and roost on the tiptop , rather than sit and spread in the valleys . With nothing to drop anchor them , the droplets drift around with little inter-group communication resistance until they fall off the sharpness of the leaves .
How is waterproofness measured?
The hydrophobicity of a surface is measured by its contact slant . The higher the inter-group communication angle , the higher the piddle repellency .
Surfaces with a contact angle of less than 90 ° are refer to as hydrophilic ( hold a tendency to mix with , dissolve in , or be wet by water ) and those with an angle greater than 90 ° is referred to as hydrophobic .
Some industrial plant show contact angles up to 160 ° and are call ultrahydrophobic , meaning only 2 percent to 3 pct of the surface of a droplet is in contact with the surface .
Nasturtium leaves have a striking angle of 145 ° , putting them in the “ superhydrophobic ” category ( just one footmark down from ultrahydrophobic ) .
This mean a water system droplet creates a everlasting “ pancake ” when it shoot down on a nasturtium folio , then quickly springs back up and off the surface .
Can we create a more waterproof surface that replicates nasturtium leaves?
As someone who ’s outside a lot , using or wearing a variety show of tents , sleeping bags , rainfall shell , and hiking shoe , water repellency is something I ’m always assay out in gear .
And all of this made me wonder — why are n’t scientists creating the world ’s most waterproof fabric from genus Nasturtium leave ? Can they outmatch the gold touchstone of Gore - Tex ? ( Which is fundamentally just Teflon - coated fabric . )
Turns out , they’re working on it . An engineering team from MIT has developed the “ most rainproof material ever , ” inspired by the vein of nasturtium leaves and the wings of the Morpho butterfly stroke .
The new superhydrophobic material ( which could eventually be woven into material material ) reportedly repels water supply 40 pct quicker than its predecessors and has a potpourri of potential lotion , including activewear , lab pelage , military clothing , and collapsible shelter .
Looks like botanically - build adventurewear may be in our future !
This station update from an clause that originally appeared on June 9 , 2016 .
