• Invited by Springer Nature and the Editor-in-Chief of PLANTA on the occasion of the journal’s centennial,  a personal review on The purity of sacred lotus: superhydrophobic self-cleaning plant surfaces and the consequences revisited  was published. The article revisits the development of superhydrophobic surface research starting in Heidelberg 1974, its initially controversial reception, provides first insight into the associated patenting process, and discusses current challenges in advanced functional materials and agricultural surfactant applications. Researchers in biomimetics, surfaces, plant- and materials science, and taxonomy may find it of interest:

      Barthlott, W. (2026): The purity of Sacred Lotus: superhydrophobic self-cleaning plant surfaces and the
      consequences revisited. – Planta 263, 80 Springer- DOI 10.1007/s00425-026-04937-9