> The experiments also revealed that the fruit stem straightens up during ripening, creating an average 53° angle that is close to the theoretical perfect angle

> The experiments also revealed that the fruit stem straightens up during ripening, creating an average 53° angle that is close to the theoretical perfect angle of 50° that would maximize shooting distance. I recall from school that distance is maximized for a ballistic path when the angle is 45°. See e.g. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/football-projectile-motion/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/football-projecti... Did someone get confused while writing this article or is there some reason why the optimal angle would be different in this situation?