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September 13, 2002 Art Gallery |
Sunflowers, daisies, marigolds, dahlias, and many other plants flower in unique patterns, which obey a number of subtle mathematical relationships. The seed and flower heads of these plants develop in two sets of spirals that emanate from the center—one curving clockwise and the other anti-clockwise. The head of the thistle below, for instance, has 21 rows spiraling out clockwise and 13 rows anti-clockwise. And sunflowers have numbers like 21 and 34 or 55 and 34. These numbers are not random. They occur next to each other in a sequence known as Fibonacci Numbers. Each successive number, except for the first, is the sum of the previous two: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89 etc. Fibonacci, an Italian mathematician, discovered the sequence in the thirteenth century. This genetically determined pattern of growth can also been seen in pinecones, pineapples, artichokes, and many other plants.
—Birgit Reinert
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