Elastic response of the resurrection fern Polypodium polypodioides during rehydration
The resurrection fern (Polypodium polypodioides) has a remarkable elastic reponse, where the fast water uptake of the fern upon rehydration is accompanied by a significant reduction in its Young’s modulus. In this letter, we discuss the fern’s elastic response and suggest that by mimicking its structure, one should be able to design materials exhibiting interesting elastic behavior.