Dandelion has become a particularly efficient mechanism among plants that sow seeds far away

by Nine Köpfer

The scenery of dandelion seeds flying over the wind is not so unusual, but when compared to the wings of the mechanism which fly away the species in the same way, the air resistance per unit area is more than four times, Research has revealed that it is a much more efficient mechanism.

Dandelion seeds fly using 'impossible' method never before seen in nature
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07084-8

A separated vortex ring underlies the flight of the dandelion | Nature
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0604-2

This research was conducted by Naomi Nakayama and Ignatio Maria Viola of Molecular Botany Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, and was published in "Nature" dated October 17, 2018.

The secret physics of dandelion seeds - YouTube


Dandelion seeds spread swiftly as they breathe in, so it's popular for children. On the other hand, it is unpopular from gardening people.

It is self-evident that the falling speed slows thanks to the fluff (crown hair) attached to the head, and it is structured such that it falls far in the wind by the wind. But if you only want to fly species far away, the seeds should be winged like wings and why the crown is not clear.

Therefore, the research team used vertical wind tunnel to visualize the flow of air when the seeds were allowed to fly freely and when fixed.

As a result, it became clear that bubbles were stably generated above the crown hair.

It is thought that the flow of air in this part is adjusted to be stable by the crown hair.

It seems that the air resistance per unit area caused by the crown hair was more than four times higher than that of a solid like wing fruit. In other words, the research team insists that this indicates that crown hairy seeds are more efficient than wing fruits when spreading light seeds extensively.

By the way, the seed of the maple known as a wing is like this.

by Comrade King