Plants
Plants illustrate the Fibonacci series in the numbers and arrangements of
petals, leaves, sections and seeds.
Plants that are formed in spirals, such as pinecones, pineapples and
sunflowers, illustrate Fibonacci numbers. Many plants produce new branches in
quantities that are based on Fibonacci numbers.
Fibonacci numbers
in plant spirals
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Fibonacci numbers
in plant branching
|
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Here a sunflower seed illustrates this principal as the
number of clockwise spirals is 55 (marked in red, with every
tenth one in white) and the number of counterclockwise spirals is 89 (marked in green, with every tenth one in white.) |
Here a plant illustrates that each successive level of branches is often
based on a progression through the Fibonacci series. |
You might expect symmetry in plants, but if you cut a fruit or vegetable
you will often find that the number of sections is a Fibonacci number:
Fibonacci numbers in plant sections
|
Bananas have 3 |
Apples have 5 |
Many flowers have petals that total a number in, or very close to, the
Fibonacci series:
Fibonacci numbers in flower petals
|
 |
3 |
Lilies |
| 5 |
Buttercups, Roses |
| 8 |
Delphinium |
| 13 |
Marigolds |
| 21 |
Black-eyed susans |
| 34 |
Pyrethrum |
| 55/89 |
Daisies |
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