Directional liquid transport has been widely observed in various species including cacti, spiders, lizards, the pitcher plant Nepenthes alata , and Araucaria leaves. However, in all these examples the liquid transport for a specific liquid is completely restricted in a fixed direction. We demonstrate that Crassula muscosa shoot surfaces have the ability to transport a specific liquid unidirectionally in either direction. This is accomplished through the presence of asymmetric reentrant leaves with varying reentrant angles, which yields the variation in liquid meniscus heterogeneity. These findings enable engineered biomimetic structures capable of selective directional liquid transport, with functions such as intelligent flow direction switching, liquid distribution, and mixing.

中文翻译：

---

景天树芽表面的选择性定向液体输送


定向液体输送已在多种物种中广泛观察到，包括仙人掌、蜘蛛、蜥蜴、猪笼草翼猪笼草， 和南洋杉树叶。然而，在所有这些示例中，特定液体的液体输送完全限制在固定方向上。我们证明景天射击表面具有在任一方向单向输送特定液体的能力。这是通过具有不同凹角的不对称凹角叶的存在来实现的，这会产生液体弯月面异质性的变化。这些发现使得工程仿生结构能够选择性定向液体输送，具有智能流向切换、液体分配和混合等功能。