Biomechanics and traditional use of Raphia matombe rachis in northern Angola

Abstract

The huge rachis of Raphia matombe is intensely used by local people in Northern Angola for the construction of stools, chairs, shelfs, beds, or baskets. This is not only because it is a charming, fast-growing, renewable, and locally abundant material with a high aesthetic value but also due to its extremely light weight structure. Nevertheless, up to now the anatomical and mechanical features of rachises have hardly been studied, although monocotyledonous stem tissues have been the subject of numerous papers. This study presents an analysis of the rachis of Raphia matombe and its material gradients over its whole length and cross-sectional area. The modulus of elasticity increased from the inner towards the outer layers, whereas no clear axial gradient from the base to the apex was found. However, the specific modulus of elasticity increased from the base to the apex in relation to the density, reaching maximum values of 19.0 MPa/kgm-³. Still, the high anatomical and mechanical heterogeneity of the rachis impede quick and easy processing.

Full Article

Biomechanics and Traditional Use of Raphia matombe Rachis in Northern Angola

Thea Lautenschläger,^a,* Andreas Kempe,^a,b Katharina Bunk,^c Monizi Mawunu,^d and Christoph Neinhuis ^a

The huge rachis of Raphia matombe is intensely used by local people in Northern Angola for the construction of stools, chairs, shelfs, beds, or baskets. This is not only because it is a charming, fast-growing, renewable, and locally abundant material with a high aesthetic value but also due to its extremely light weight structure. Nevertheless, up to now the anatomical and mechanical features of rachises have hardly been studied, although monocotyledonous stem tissues have been the subject of numerous papers. This study presents an analysis of the rachis of Raphia matombe and its material gradients over its whole length and cross-sectional area. The modulus of elasticity increased from the inner towards the outer layers, whereas no clear axial gradient from the base to the apex was found. However, the specific modulus of elasticity increased from the base to the apex in relation to the density, reaching maximum values of 19.0 MPa/kgm-³. Still, the high anatomical and mechanical heterogeneity of the rachis impede quick and easy processing.

Keywords: Biomechanics; Composite material; Density; Specific modulus of elasticity; Angola

Contact information: a: Department of Biology, Institute of Botany, Faculty of Science, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany; b: Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany; c: Plant Biomechanics Group & Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg/ Breisgau, Germany; d: Department of Agronomy, Kimpa Vita University, Uíge, Angola;

* Corresponding author: thea.lautenschlaeger@tu-dresden.de

INTRODUCTION

Palms, which belong to the Monocotyledons, do not produce real wood. Nevertheless, they can withstand high static and dynamic loads (e.g., during hurricanes), up to a certain point. Their primary fiber bundles, which are embedded in the parenchymatous ground tissue and form a natural composite, are responsible for this high load-bearing capacity. The texture and toughness of this composite largely depend upon the distribution of vascular bundles and the amount of sclerenchyma present (Parthasarathy and Klotz 1976). While peripheral crowded bundles provide most of the mechanical strength of the stem due to their large fiber caps, the lacunose center of the stems consists of widely separated bundles embedded in spongy, nonlignified ground tissue (Tomlinson 2006). According to Rich (1987a,b), the palm stem density, modulus of elasticity, and modulus of rupture are the highest in the periphery and base due to sclerification of the fiber bundles. Furthermore, a gradual decrease in stiffness could be observed across the fiber cap towards the surrounding parenchymatous tissue (Rüggeberg et al. 2008). However, the anatomical features were found not only for stems, but also for palm petioles (Parthasarathy and Klotz 1976). In contrast to the petioles of simple and palmate leaves, the petiole of pinnate leaves function in an analogous manner to the branches supporting separate leaves, so that their flexural stiffness increases towards the base (Niklas 1971).

Fig. 1. (a) Raphia matombe in its natural swampy habitat in northern Angola. The palm forms only short stems; (b) the leaves rank as the longest in plant kingdom and are pinnately compound (c)

Leaves of the genus Raphia are pinnately compound and are the longest in the plant kingdom, with a length of up to 10 m. In northern Angola’s Uíge Province, Raphia matombe De Wild. (Figs. 1a, 1b, and 1c) is extensively used for the extraction of palm wine ‘matombe’ (Monizi et al. 2018a), or for breeding of the edible larvae of Rhynchophorus phoenicis, which feed on damaged rachises (Lautenschläger et al. 2017). In addition, the leaf rachis, leaflets, and the fibers of the leaf-base are used in different ways, for example, for furniture and construction material (Figs. 2a, 2b, and 2c) (Lautenschläger et al. 2018, Monizi et al. 2018b). Palm “wood” generally is not used because it is neither homogenous nor does it provide adequate mechanical properties. The current study focused on the structural properties of the rachis, as this material is extremely light and very stable, which allows its intensive usage by local people for traditional furniture. In the local Bakongo language Kikongo, the palm is called ‘matombe’ while the vernacular Portuguese name for the palm is ‘bordão’. The plants grow in swampy areas and wetlands along rivers and creeks, which are frequently found in the mosaic-like structure of the Zambesi-Guinense forest and savannah formations. Leaves arise close to the ground from the base of a comparatively short stem. According to the local people, the palms are abundant and therefore provide an always available and cheap material, which is easy to harvest. However, detailed studies on the number of leaves produced per year are still lacking. The leaves are cut and dried for use as construction material. Depending on the mechanical stress the respective furniture is exposed to, local producers use a machete to cut the unequal cross-sections of the rachis into the desired form. For small stools used in the street markets, the outer part of rachis is cut away to form a rectangular shape which can be processed more easily. In the case of large bed frames, the strong outer part remains.

Fig. 2. Furniture such as tables (a) or stools (b) made of Raphia matombe rachis. Nails as connecting element are manufactured from the outer part of the rachis (c)

The mechanical properties of plant material depend on physical, chemical, and morphological characteristics such as density, chemical composition, or tissue distribution. Therefore, morphological, biomechanical, and chemical analyses of the relevant tissues were carried out at different positions along the rachis of Raphia matombe as well as across the cross-section to address the following questions:

• Does the Raphia rachis show similar anatomical and mechanical properties as palm stems?
• Is the rachis an appropriate material for general construction components?
• Is the material a potential hardwood substitute?

PROPERTIES ASSESSMENT

Material Collection

Plant material was collected in Angola’s Northern Uíge Province, where Raphia matombe is abundant and widely used. The two leaves investigated here were freshly cut 1 m above the ground and had a length of about 8 m. In order to transport the material to Germany, these two complete leaves were cut into five segments each with a length of approx. 1.4 m. All leaflets were removed.

Methods

Morphological and anatomical analysis

Different methods were used to describe the morphology as well as the anatomy of the Raphia matombe rachis. To reconstruct changes in the geometry of the cross-section along the leaf, one 1-cm-thick slice of each segment was cut off at the beginning and at the tip of the leaf. The surfaces of all slices were smoothed manually with sand paper and scanned with a scanner camera (Pentacon Scan 6000S, LaserSoft Imaging AG, Kiel, Germany) to document the different shapes as well as the distribution of the vascular bundles. To quantify the number of vascular bundles over the cross-section as well as along the whole rachis, these slices were classified into three zones: outside, inside, and transition zones (Fig. 4a). The transition zone showed the shift to the inside zone, which is characterized by large bundles with thin cell walls. The bundles were counted and extrapolated to an area of 1 cm² to compare the data. The area of the cross-sections was determined via GIMP by counting pixels with the counting function (after posterization to two tones and using images with a resolution of 700 dpi).

For further details, pictures were taken at larger magnifications with a reflected light microscope (Olympus SZX16, Jena, Germany). For microscopic analysis, parts of the rachis were cut into small pieces and incubated in hot water for approximately half an hour in order to obtain thin sections using razor blades. The samples were analyzed without staining using a light microscope (Carl Zeiss Axioskop 2, Jena, Germany). The thickness of ten sclerenchyma layers surrounding the vascular bundles was measured with a measuring eyepiece in the ocular, to compare the differences in the outer, inner, and transitions zone.

To complete the microscopic analysis of the rachis, the samples were investigated with a scanning electron microscope (Carl Zeiss Supra40VP, Jena, Germany). These pictures can give an insight into the cross-sectional area as well as into the longitudinal organization.

Chemical composition

For a comparison of the chemical composition along the leaf rachis, samples from segment 1 and segment 4 were broken into small pieces with a hammer and milled to a fine powder. The dry weight of the powder was determined automatically in a moisture indicator (KERN MLS 50-3HA 160N, KERN & SOHN, Balingen-Frommern Germany), by filling approximately 0.5 g into the device. The powder was then automatically heated and weighed.

The cellulose contents were investigated as described by Kuerschner and Hoffer (1931), the lignin contents according to Theander and Westerlund (1986). Toluene-ethanol extraction was used to analyze residual extracts content within the rachis. The chemical analyses took place at the Institute of Wood and Plant Chemistry of the Technische Universität Dresden in Germany.

The moisture content of samples was determined according to DIN EN 13183. Therefore, 10 cm long specimens of the whole rachis from the basal segment 0, from the middle segment 3 and from the apical segment 5 were weighed fresh, after drying for two months at room temperature and a humidity of 40% (KERN EMB 100-3, KERN & SOHN, Balingen-Frommern Germany), and after kiln drying (Binder ED 240, Tuttlingen, Germany). The moisture content is given for the fresh samples and the samples used in the mechanical test set up. It is calculated by dividing the mass of the lost water by the mass of the dried sample multiplied by 100%.

Mechanical analysis

First, the flexural rigidities of entire rachis segments in their fresh state were determined by a three-point bending test within the elastic range. Therefore, within 2 h of harvesting, the segments were placed between two vertical supports and then loaded by hanging materials of varying weight from the middle of the rachis. Dial extensometers, one of which was in the middle and one at every support, measured the deflection of the rachis in the middle, and recognized deflections at the supports. These were remeasured in a dry state in Dresden.

Back in Germany, all segments were cut into specimens, which were subjected to bending, compression, and tension tests using a Zwickiline Z2.5 (Zwick GmbH, Ulm, Germany). Tests were performed in accordance with DIN EN ISO 527 (2012) and ISO 13061 (2014) but with modified dimensions of specimens due to the rachis size. The testing machine was equipped with a 50 N load cell for tension tests of extracted vascular bundles and a 1 kN load cell for bending and compression tests of specimens. The testing speed for the bending, compression, and tension tests was set to 2 mm/min. The dimensions of the samples were measured using a caliper (TopCraft). All tests were conducted at constant room temperature (22 °C). The moduli of elasticity were calculated from the slope of the initial linear part of the stress-strain curve. In addition, the ultimate tensile strength and breaking strain of the vascular bundles were determined in tension tests.

Due to its highly anisotropic character, which is further explained in the morphological part of the results, three different layers of the cross-section were defined: the outer layer, which was approximately 1 mm in thickness, the transition layer with a similar thickness, and the inner layer, which made up the main part of the cross-section (Fig. 4a). Thin specimens were prepared from these three layers using a fine saw to conduct three-point bending tests. To determine a gradient in the material parameters over the cross-section and along the rachis, between 34 and 50 specimens were cut at each of the four segments from the leaf base towards the apex, except at the apical segment, as the outside and transition layers were too thin to yield suitable specimens. The specimens were cut to dimensions of 1 mm x13 mm x 120 mm. Each specimen was measured individually before testing, and due to preparation process, the true width and height were 13.3 ± 1.8 mm and 1.13 ± 0.15 mm, respectively. The test direction was perpendicular to the flat side.

For the compression tests, cubes with dimensions of 5 mm x 5 mm x 5 mm were cut from all five segments of the rachis. The authors aimed to prepare 30 cubes at each position, but only a smaller sample number could be prepared from the apical segment. The desired dimensions of the samples could not always be met accurately, due to irregularities in the plant material and shape. Therefore, each specimen was measured individually before testing, and an accuracy of 5.02 ± 0.39 mm was achieved. Compression tests were performed in axial direction. Due to the preparation of the specimens, only an outer zone comprised of the previously defined outside and transition layers could be tested in comparison to the inside tissue.

To identify the influence of the vascular fiber bundles to the strengthening of the tissue, the bundles were separated from the surrounding parenchymatous tissue. For this, the middle part of the leaf (Segment 3) was cut lengthwise using a fine saw and then six bundles were extricated manually, resulting in a total of 30 samples with an average diameter of 1.32 ± 0.28 mm. The remaining parenchymatous cells around the exposed bundles were removed with sandpaper.

Density

The samples, which were later used for mechanical tests, were previously used to determine the density gradient. Therefore, 20, 30, and 45 specimens from outside, transition, and inside layers prepared for bending tests were used, plus 93 specimens from inside, which were prepared for compression tests. Because the samples originated from five different positions along the leaf, a potential density gradient along the leaf was additionally investigated. The height, width, and depth of each piece was measured with a caliper from ‘Topcraft’ to calculate the volume. These measurements were conducted at three positions of the specimen and averaged, to exclude errors arising from small irregularities of the shape. Afterwards, all samples were weighed with a special accuracy-weighing machine (Ohaus Adventurer).

For the comparison of fresh and dry material, the densities of 24 freshly cut samples of one rachis were determined in the same manner as above during the field trip to Uíge/Angola. All pieces were transported to Dresden and stored at room temperature for one month. Afterwards, all samples were measured and weighed again. Additional determination of the dimensions was necessary, because the material shrank during drying. With this data, the fresh and dry density of the samples was calculated and compared.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Morphological and Anatomical Analysis

The picture series of the rachis pieces along Leaf 1 (Positions 1-5 plus 1 piece at the tip) shows the change in the cross-sectional geometry (Fig. 3). All pictures represent the real size relations and are presented with the adaxial side upwards to reflect the rachis in its natural habitus. At the leaf base, the rachis was even more U-shaped than in the first cross-sectional picture of the scan series. At approximately two meters above the cut of the first rachis segment, the shape of the cross-section changed slightly from a U-shape to an oval. Beginning with the part bearing leaflets, the adaxial side changed from concave into a convex triangular shape, while the abaxial side remained round. In addition to the change in geometry, the rachis tapered down towards its apex. The basal segment had a maximum width and height of about 70 mm at the cut towards the ground, whereas the last segment had a maximum width of only 15 mm at the cut.

In addition to the change of the rachis geometry along the leaf, the shape, distribution, and size of vascular bundles changed along the cross-section of the Raphia rachis (Fig. 4a). The cross-section of the rachis showed the typical vascular bundle distribution of monocotyledonous stems, specifically of Arecaceae as they are incapable of secondary growth. The number of vascular bundles was low at the center and at the base and increased considerably towards the periphery and the apex (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4).

Additionally, the shapes and dimensions of the vascular bundles changed with their position in the cross-section. In the inner region, they were round, except for a small tip at the position of the metaxylem. The vascular bundles that were closer to the periphery elongated to become oval. The outermost vascular bundles almost looked like wedges of different sizes and were arranged alternately to perfectly fill all interspaces, leaving almost no parenchyma tissue in between. Furthermore, the vascular bundles also decreased in size towards the outer layer (Fig. 4a).

Fig. 3. Definition of segments and cross sections along the leaf rachis, their total number of vascular bundles and the gradient of vascular bundles in the different layers, converted to mm². CS = cross-section (A-G), S = segment number, VB = total number of vascular bundles across the whole cross-section