Optical structure and function of the white filamentary hair covering the edelweiss bracts

Jean Pol Vigneron, Marie Rassart, Zofia Vértesy, Krisztián Kertész, Michaël Sarrazin, László P. Biró, Damien Ertz, and Virginie Lousse
Phys. Rev. E 71, 011906 – Published 19 January 2005

Abstract

The optical properties of the inflorescence of the high-altitude Leontopodium nivale subsp. alpinum (edelweiss) is investigated, in relation with its submicrometer structure, as determined by scanning electron microscopy. The filaments forming the hair layer have been found to exhibit an internal structure which may be one of the few examples of a photonic structure found in a plant. Measurements of light transmission through a self-supported layer of hair pads taken from the bracts supports the idea that the wooly layer covering the plant absorbs near-ultraviolet radiation before it reaches the cellular tissue. Calculations based on a photonic-crystal model provide insight on the way radiation can be absorbed by the filamentary threads.

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  • Received 16 September 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.71.011906

©2005 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Jean Pol Vigneron1,*, Marie Rassart1, Zofia Vértesy2, Krisztián Kertész2, Michaël Sarrazin1, László P. Biró2, Damien Ertz3, and Virginie Lousse1,4

  • 1Laboratoire de Physique du Solide, Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, 61 rue de Bruxelles, B-5000 Namur, Belgium
  • 2Research Institute for Technical Physics and Materials Science, POB 49, H-1525 Budapest, Hungary
  • 3National Botanic Garden of Belgium, Domein van Bouchout, B-1860 Meise, Belgium
  • 4Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA

  • *Electronic address: jean-pol.vigneron@fundp.ac.be

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Vol. 71, Iss. 1 — January 2005

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