Tall Trees Spiral Concept

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Spiral Growth

The growth of epidermal cells in plants:

• http://www.plantcell.org/cgi/content/full/14/10/2319

If we number the first leaf "0" ... and count the leaves up the stem until we come
to the one which is directly above the starting one, the number we get is
generally a term of the Fibonacci sequence. Again as we work up the stem, let us
count the number of times we revolve about it. The arrangement of leaves can then
be expressed as a ratio. The number of leaves in our sample plant is "8", ... and the
number of revolutions "5".

Our plant is said to have phyllotaxis 5/8. Each species is characterized by its own phyllotaxis.
Almost always the ratios encountered are ratios of consecutive or alternate terms of the
Fibonacci sequence.

• http://ccins.camosun.bc.ca/~jbritton/fibslide/jbfibslide.htm

Lightning Strike on a Mature Pine showing Spiral Growth Pattern of the Vascular System

• http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/TRA/PLANTS/spiralpine.html

• http://www.goldenmuseum.com/1607SpiralSymmetry_engl.html

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Tall Trees Visualisation

TallTreesVisualisation

-- RachelWingfield - 30 Nov 2004
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