Fig. 4: Light-tuned wind-dispersal.

a Schematic drawings of light induced shape-morphing of artificial seeds in mid-air. b Free falling trajectories of artificial seeds across the visible light zone. Light: 460 nm, 760 mW cm⁻². Inset: The measured terminal velocities (V_T) of artificial seeds before (brown bars) and after entering (red bars) the visible light zone. Measurements were taken from distinct samples. c Schematic drawings of the free-fall experiments of gliding flights of artificial seeds with the help of a crosswind indoors. d The dispersal distance of natural maple samaras (purple), artificial seeds after the UV irradiation (blue, 150 mW cm⁻², 20 s) and artificial seeds after blue light illumination (red, 300 mW cm⁻², 30 s) upon different loadings. The error bars are displayed as mean values +/- standard deviation (n  =  3). The same sample was measured repeatedly. Wind speed: 0.93 ± 0.07 m s⁻¹. e The landing spot distribution of natural maple samaras (purple triangle), artificial seeds after the UV (blue square, 150 mW cm⁻², 20 s) and artificial seeds with the blue light irradiation (red dot, 300 mW cm⁻², 30 s) on the X-Y plane indoors. Wind speed: 0.93 ± 0.07 m s⁻¹. The same sample was measured repeatedly. f The landing spot distribution of artificial seeds before (red dot) and after (blue square) UV illumination in outdoor conditions. Height of the building: 14 m, wind speed at the releasing point: 4 ± 0.5 m s⁻¹. UV: 150 mW cm⁻², 20 s. g Statistics of landing point distance for artificial seeds after UV irradiation (red) and the same seeds before the UV irradiation (blue). UV: 150 mW cm⁻², 20 s. Measurements were taken from distinct samples. Day (h) and night (i) photos of artificial seeds equipped with light reflectors. All scale bars are 1 cm.