How the Cucumber Tendril Coils and Overwinds

Curls Beget More Curls Cucumber tendrils reach up to find an attachment, and then coil to shorten and drag the plant up toward the sunlight. Gerbode et al. (p. 1087 ) analyzed the biomechanics of cucumber tendril coiling. The process depends on a thin layer of cells within the tendril that becomes lignified during the coiling process. A construct of pre-strained silicon sheets, fabric ribbon, and copper wire reproduced the coiling functions in abiotic materials. Physical and mathematical models explained the peculiar response by which the cucumber tendril initially overwinds when pulled further.