XVI International Botanical Congess

Hollow stems of plants under wind loads are endangered by local buckling. Functional anatomical studies reveal four different solutions to the problem: A thick outer cylinder of sclerenchymatous tissue (Secale ancestrale). A thin outer cylinder of sclerenchyma and a strongly lignified inner parenchymatic cylinder (Arundo donax). A thin outer cylinder of strengthening tissue and a fully turgescent parenchyma (Equisetum giganteum). A thin outer cylinder of strengthening tissue, and -- separated by bridges of strengthening tissue -- a double layered inner cylinder of endodermic cells (Equisetum hyemale).