How a leaf's symmetry and lobes impact its journey back to the tree

How a leaf's symmetry and lobes impact its journey back to the tree

Two physicists from the Technical University of Denmark have found that leaf shape is a determining factor in the distance leaves travel as they fall from their tree. In their paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Matthew Dominic Biviano and Kaare Hartvig Jensen describe how they built a device that allowed them to mass-test falling leaves and what they learned through its use.

A leaf’s geometry determines whether it falls far from its tree

Shape and symmetry help determine where a leaf lands — and if the tree it came from can recoup the leaf’s carbon as it decomposes.