Jump to content
The Corroboree

Recommended Posts

i'm not sure how well-known my discovery is, but there is a plant which i'm pretty seriously convinced has been making use of wheel technology. i will narrow the field down if nobody has a clue what i'm talking about.

the prize is a sense of wonderment, and maybe some imaginative mental sequence with weird looking innovative vehicles. maybe even a patent on said scifi-turistic bio-inspired eco-ride.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The only plant that I can think of that makes use of wheel technology, particularly my bicycle wheels, but also the soles if my feet is tribulus terrestris, aka bindii's haha.. But I will continue to scratch my head over this one.. I'm interested in finding out what your talking about

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

well theres tumbleweeds but thay're not exactly like a wheel.. kind of though, do you mean that this plant has a 'wheel' & the equivalent of an axle?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Narrow the feild down allready.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

forgot about tumbleweed! paradox you get a prize.

okay so it may not be native, but i found a seedpod in australia that rolls around under power of wind or gravity. it probably enjoys smooth terrain eg desert or rocks, and could easily be blown up a hill. we can argue about it's wheel-like characteristics when somebody gets it.

FVD, the way you came at my problem from a different angle and produced a totally valid answer just fills me with joy. you get a prize, and so do i. i kinda grew up in NSW and tribulus made good on my bike tyres as well as my feet. what most people call a bindi is more akin to a seed with a glochid. bonus prize because tribulus was first to invent battlefield technology known as caltrops. we called them three horn jacks.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

not a plant obviously but some bacteria with flagellum have a true 'wheel' or at least a mechanism that functions very similarly to a wheel in that the flagellum rotates on what is almost like an axle.. i don't really know much about it but apparently it's some very sophisticated mechanics

classi27.jpg

edit: it doesn't roll along though so not the same function as a wheel

Edited by paradox
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

not a plant, but this cute little guy doubles as a wheel

 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

not a plant obviously but some bacteria with flagellum have a true 'wheel' or at least a mechanism that functions very similarly to a wheel in that the flagellum rotates on what is almost like an axle.. i don't really know much about it but apparently it's some very sophisticated mechanics

classi27.jpg

edit: it doesn't roll along though so not the same function as a wheel

no prize for wheel bearings.

actually it has a motor and a screw, which means that nature invented marine propulsion (shipping without reliance on wind) before we did.

Edited by ThunderIdeal

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

not a plant, but this cute little guy doubles as a wheel

 

that wheel provides heaps more suspension than an inflatable rubber tyre. one must ask, did the spider turn into a wheel, or does the wheel disguise itself as a spider to keep humans safe from the fierce battle between autobots and decepticons?

final hint: it isn't shaped like a disc, it's more like a rolling pin, but it's mostly empty space, making it such a great wind-powered vehicle. if i seperated a small fraction, it's ability to generate hatin' would drastically diminish.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Have you ever seen those grass seeds screw themselves in. Looks like there are many species that do it. I think one of the native grasses is the common Kangaroo grass Themeda triandra.

When the seeds get wet they start 'screwing'

IMG_0242.JPG

ERCI.jpg

Edited by Halcyon Daze
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The birdcage plant, Oenothera deltoides.

Saw this on a doco just the other day!

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Have you ever seen those grass seeds screw themselves in. Looks like there are many species that do it. I think one of the native grasses is the common Kangaroo grass Themeda triandra.

When the seeds get wet they start 'screwing'

IMG_0242.JPG

ERCI.jpg

Spear grass - Stipa or Austrostipa...

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

not a plant, but this cute little guy doubles as a wheel

 

Also not a plant, but this guy's got the right idea

post-7606-0-73880100-1406419929_thumb.jp

post-7606-0-73880100-1406419929_thumb.jpg

post-7606-0-73880100-1406419929_thumb.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

When the seeds get wet they start 'screwing'

My girlfriend, reading over my shoulder remarked something along the lines of "that's just like me" :wink:

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Algea getting flushed down the shiter.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A star shaped dry grass seed pod that blows around in light breezes, around late summer early autumn , is this close? Im trying to find a genus, seen it but cant name it

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

post-3632-0-02510500-1406858467_thumb.jp

???

Only pic I could find of it, I still dont know its botanic name though, fairly common in central vic

post-3632-0-02510500-1406858467_thumb.jpg

post-3632-0-02510500-1406858467_thumb.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

..more of a ball innit?

final hint: it isn't shaped like a disc, it's more like a rolling pin, but it's mostly empty space, making it such a great wind-powered vehicle. if i seperated a small fraction, it's ability to generate hatin' would drastically diminish.

impressed by the amount of responses though! you're all winners. i will post photographs as soon as i can be stuffed. i assume it's caesalpiniaceae.

edit: yeah, honey locust i reckon.

post-3543-0-74818000-1406871535_thumb.jp

post-3543-0-19250600-1406871808_thumb.jp

WP_20140724_004.jpg

WP_20140801_002.jpg

WP_20140724_004.jpg

WP_20140801_002.jpg

Edited by ThunderIdeal

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ah, I missed that hint, im stumped now though, im keen to see the seed dispersal method

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Honey locust pods are way more fleshy & longer than that. Looks more like some kind of albizia or relative. Fabaceae.

Cool though, I'd never put two & two together regarding the helical shape when they're dry. Nice one

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

^ i know right? i saw it rolling down the road with the wind otherwise it would have looked like ordinary legume gunk, gunking up gutters.

it's probably harder to evolve into an ultra-minimalist rolling-pin compared with a ball, unless you're a bean pod. plus, balls don't catch as much wind, and they roll in the direction of each gust. i imagine the beanpod works a bit more like a sailboat, pushing forwards even if the wind is at an angle, except when it pushes backwards instead.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×