Editing Tendril (section)

{{Short description|Specialisation of plant parts used to climb or bind}}
{{Redirect|Tendrils|the band|Tendrils (band)}}
[[Image:Vine.jpg|thumb|upright|A curling tendril]]

In [[botany]], a '''tendril''' is a specialized [[Plant stem|stem]], [[leaf]] or [[Petiole (botany)|petiole]] with a thread-like shape used by [[climbing plant]]s for support and attachment, as well as cellular invasion by parasitic plants such as ''[[Cuscuta]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Plants: A Different Perspective|url=http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1og25/PlantsADifferentPers/resources/73.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217195618/http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1og25/PlantsADifferentPers/resources/73.htm|archive-date=2017-02-17|access-date=2018-01-09|website=content.yudu.com|language=en}}</ref> There are many plants that have tendrils; including sweet peas, passionflower, grapes and the [[Chilean glory-flower]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Plants Climb - Climbing Plants & Vines {{!}} Gardener's Supply |url=https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/how-plants-climb/5373.html |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=www.gardeners.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Tendrils respond to touch and to chemical factors by curling, twining, or adhering to suitable structures or hosts. Tendrils vary greatly in size from a few centimeters up to 27 inches (69 centimeters) for ''[[Nepenthes harryana]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kurata |first=Shigeo |date=1976 |title=Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu |location=Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia |publisher=National Parks Trust |page=47 }}</ref> The chestnut vine (''[[Tetrastigma voinierianum]]'') can have tendrils up to 20.5 inches (52 centimeters) in length.  Normally there is only one simple or branched tendril at each node (see [[plant stem]]), but the aardvark cucumber (''[[Cucumis humifructus]]'') can have as many as eight.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kilbride Jr. |first=Joseph H. |date=1993 |title=Biosystematic Monograph of the Genus Cucumis |location=Bonne, No. Carolina |publisher=Parkway Publishers |page=77 }}</ref>