This native British plant is familiar to people living in both rural and urban areas where it can be found on railway banks, in ditches, at woodland edges and on waste ground. In the past children used the hollow, furrowed stems of this plant as pea-shooters.
Cow parsley is of interest to mathematicians and engineers because it (and other members of its family such as Giant Hog Weed) show geometric consistency over a very wide size range in an order of magnitude ranging from less than 1m high to 7m.
This suggests that, within limits, whatever the size of the structure of (Trans)Plant one can predict the sizes, lengths and angles needed to produce a structure of any given size. This geometric consistency also means that the resulting sculpture will look both biological and familiar.
Using the measurements of cow parsley that Professor Vincent has in his extensive database of natural structures, we can predict the design of a structure up to twice the height of the biggest known similar plant (7m).
In addition, the inherent modularity of the cow parsley structure suggests that manufacture would be simplified, as would the calculations.
In keeping with the structure of cow parsley, all the components that comprise (Trans)Plant can essentially be straight tubes.
Jane Prophet was born in Birmingham. Her father, David, began his career as an apprentice at the Austin Motor works. He was sacked for spending too much time working on his racing cars and for insubordination, evidenced by late night welding sessions in the factory workshop that resulted in giant amalgamations of metal work.
It is equally influenced by her close relationship with Arthur Watkins, her maternal grandfather, from Sparkhill, a metallurgist who entertained her by making objects out of wire and showing her how mercury behaved. Her fascination with plants and their shapes started during her childhood and came from his discussion of plant chemistry and her mother’s life-long passion for horticulture and garden design.
