Tendrils enable upward climb: rattan palm

Rattan palms attach to established trees and climb vigorously upwards thanks to long, thin tendrils with extremely sharp, curved hooks.

Biomimicry Taxonomy

	Move or stay put >
	Attach >
	Permanently

Biomimetic Application Ideas

Fasteners, clips, snaps, slide fastener tapes.

[Collapse all sections] Summary

"Rattans, the highly specialised climbing palms of south-east Asia, have stems that are barely thicker than a man's finger. The front tip, from which all growth comes, explores with extremely long, thin tendrils equipped along their length with needle-sharp curved hooks. If these snag your arm - and the tendrils are so thin that they can easily be overlooked - they can rip both your shirt and your flesh. With these, it hitches itself on to an established tree and actively grows upwards. Sometimes the support is not strong enough to bear the extra load and it collapses, but the rattan is not deterred. It continues to grow as it sprawls across the forest floor and does so with such vigour that some species develop longer stems than any other plant and may reach a length of over five hundred feet." (Attenborough 1995:162-163)

About the inspiring organism

Calamus
Calamus

Organism/taxonomy data provided by:
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2008 Annual Checklist

Bioinspired products and application ideas

Application Ideas: Fasteners, clips, snaps, slide fastener tapes.

Industrial Sector(s) interested in this strategy: Hardware

References

Attenborough, D. 1995. The Private Life of Plants: A Natural History of Plant Behavior. London: BBC Books. 320 p.

Tendrils enable upward climb: rattan palm

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