Biomechanics of the giant reed Arundo donax

Abstract

The quantitative description of local buckling of hollow plant stems requires the knowledge of Young's modulus in the longitudinal and tangential directions for the different tissues of which the stem is composed. For thick–walled stems the shear modulus for the radial–tangential plane is needed for an advanced treatment of the process of ovalization. The primary causes of failure can be predicted if critical compressive strains in the longitudinal direction and critical tensile strains in the tangential direction are known. All of these mechanical properties and their variation along the length of the stem can be measured in Arundo donax .