Bio-Inspired Digital Sensing Solutions (BIDS) Lab, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, 3001, Australia.
Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Clayton, 3800, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 30;10(1):10685. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-67663-6.
Plant organs including flowers and leaves typically have a variety of different micro-structures present on the epidermal surface. These structures can produce measurable optical effects with viewing angle including shifts in peak reflectance and intensity; however, these different structures can also modulate hydrophobic properties of the surfaces. For some species optical effects have been proposed to act as signals to enhance pollination interactions, whilst the ability to efficiently shed water provides physiological advantages to plants in terms of gas exchange and reducing infections. Currently, little is known about epidermal surface structure of flowering plants in the Southern Hemisphere, and how micro-surface may be related with either hydrophobicity or visual signalling. We measured four Australian native species and two naturalised species using a combination of techniques including SEM imaging, spectral sampling with a goniometer and contact angle measurements. Spectral data were evaluated in relation to published psychophysics results for important pollinators and reveal that potential visual changes, where present, were unlikely to be perceived by relevant pollinators. Nevertheless, hydrophobicity also did not simply explain petal surfaces as similar structures could in some cases result in very different levels of water repellency.
植物器官包括花朵和叶子，通常在表皮表面具有各种不同的微观结构。这些结构可以产生具有视角变化的可测量光学效果，包括峰值反射率和强度的变化；然而，这些不同的结构也可以调节表面的疏水性。对于某些物种，光学效应被认为是增强授粉相互作用的信号，而有效地去除水分的能力为植物提供了在气体交换和减少感染方面的生理优势。目前，对于南半球开花植物的表皮表面结构以及微观表面如何与疏水性或视觉信号相关知之甚少。我们使用包括扫描电子显微镜成像、带有测角仪的光谱采样和接触角测量在内的组合技术，对四个澳大利亚本土物种和两个归化物种进行了测量。评估了光谱数据与重要传粉者的已发表心理物理学结果的关系，结果表明，潜在的视觉变化（如果存在）不太可能被相关传粉者感知。然而，疏水性也不能简单地解释花瓣表面，因为在某些情况下，相似的结构可能导致非常不同的拒水水平。
