I was just watering my flowers…and among them, I planted giant coleus plants. I noticed that water drops just run right off the surface - as if they were repelled by the leaf’s surface.
I have read that lotus leafs are the same-water will bead up and run right off them.
What is tha advantage for the plant of this? Caould humans copy the same surface (it would be nice to have clothes that didn’t get wet).
What is the structure that allows this to take place?
If water stays on the surface of the leaf, it can encourage the growth of small plants like mosses, lichens, algae, or fungi (epiphylls) which interfere with the ability of the leaf to photosynthesize. Many leaves have adaptations such as elongated “drip tips” or water-repellent surface coatings to shed water.
The lotus effect is due to a special kind of nanostructure found on the leaves of lotus plants and others, which is being investigated by scientists for use in non-stick, self-cleaning surfaces.
First off, it’s leaves, not leafs. And we do have a very similar water-repellant surface that we use all the time. It’s called “skin”.
Human skin is much more “wettable” than many leaves. The dead layer of cells on the surface also tends to absorb water (which is why fingertips wrinkle in the bath). I wouldn’t really call human skin that similar in its attributes.
It does the job - keeps water out of our muscles.
It would also serve to keep water loss inside the leaf to a minimum, conserving water.
True, but there is more going on with leaves with respect to water shedding ability than with human skin.
Water loss by the leaf is mainly determined by the stomates, small openings on the underside of the leaf that can open and close to allow in air to provide the carbon dioxide needed for photosynthesis.
If you can’t abosorb water through your leaves, you can’t absorb waterborne pollutants through them, either. While pollutants do get into the soil, the dirt has some filtering effect that can keep the roots healthy.