The economic importance of fibre-reinforced composites is increasing as they can meet a number of demands: low weight, excellent mechanical performance in stiffness, strength and energy damping, benign fracture behaviour and low production costs. This holds true for unramified, ‘linear’ fibre-reinforced composites as well as for branched ones. In the last few years the research in the Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg concentrated upon developing ‘linear’ fibre-reinforced structures resulting in the realisation of the ‘technical plant stem’, a biomimetic product inspired by a variety of structural and functional properties found in different plants. The stems of the giant reed (Arundo donax, Poaceae) and the Dutch rush (Equisetum hyemale, Equisetaceae) have been the most important biological concept generators. The studies have led to a biomimetic, lightweight, fibre-reinforced composite structure with optimised mechanical properties that was developed and produced together with the Institute for Textile Technology and Process Engineering Denkendorf. Another challenging problem is the development of branched biomimetic fibre-reinforced structures by using stem-branch attachments of natural role models. There is a strong demand for a solution of how to manufacture nodal elements and/or ramifications with an optimised force flow, a demand evident in many areas of fibre-reinforced composite technology. Examples are hubs of wind-power plants, branch points in framework constructions in the building industry and in aerospace, ramified vein prostheses in medical technology or the connecting nodes of bicycle frames. Investigations were carried out in order to assess the potential of hierarchically structured plant ramifications as concept generators for innovative, biomimetic branched fibre-reinforced composites. Ramified plant species with pronounced fibre matrix structure served as biological role models, amongst others monocotyledons of the genera Dracaena and Freycinetia, and columnar cacti. These plants possess a special hierarchical stem organisation, which markedly differs from that of other woody plants by consisting of isolated fibres and/or wood strands running in a partially lignified ground tissue matrix. The plants exhibit Y- and T-shaped ramifications, which in their angles resemble those of the branched technical structures. Preliminary investigations confirm that the ramifications possess mechanical characteristics that are of interest for a transfer into technical applications, including a benign breaking behaviour, a good oscillation damping caused by high energy absorption and a high potential for lightweight construction. The results demonstrate the great potential for a successful technical transfer and are leading to the development of concepts for demonstrators in lab scale that already incorporate “solutions inspired by nature”.