Glue consists of dead xylem tubes, bound by lignin. A fairly accurate analogy is a bundle of straws held together with elmer’s glue.
Lignin, the glue, softens in heat and moisture. This allows the xylem to move and slide past one another a bit, before cooling and re-hardening, locking the new shape in.
It has its limits, obviously, and if you bend things too far, they will still snap.
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Glue consists of dead xylem tubes, bound by lignin. A fairly accurate analogy is a bundle of straws held together with elmer’s glue.
Lignin, the glue, softens in heat and moisture. This allows the xylem to move and slide past one another a bit, before cooling and re-hardening, locking the new shape in.
It has its limits, obviously, and if you bend things too far, they will still snap.
There’s something called lignin in wood fibres that makes them strong and rigid. Steaming softens the lignin and makes the fibres more flexible
For the same reason why dry spaghetti will snap instantly if you barely touch it but once you cook it you can tie a knot with it.
The water softens the wood.