![]() While nature might not be able to count in the same sense you can, numbers often indicate an underlying pattern which is determined by a natural law. Four leafed clovers do occur, yet nature seems to follow Fibonacci numbers, which is why you’ll find far more clover stems with three leaves. Of course, nature is full of small variations (that’s how evolution works!), which is why you’ll occasionally find a flower with four or six petals, or count a line of 14 or 12 scales on your pineapple. ![]() It’s easy to work out what the sequence is – simply add together the previous two numbers to work out the next in line.įor instance, start with 1. What is so special about these numbers? They are called ‘Fibonacci numbers’, and seem to come up often in nature, whether in the seeds of sunflowers or pinecone scales. As for the pineapple, with a few exceptions, you will find one of the rows will have thirteen scales, while the other will usually have twenty-one. What’s happening? Some flowers appear to have six petals but they actually have three petals and three sepals.Ĭhances are you’ll find examples of flowers with one, three, five, eight, thirteen or even twenty-one petals, but won’t find many with four, six, seven, nine or eleven petals. Find another line running diagonally around the pineapple the other way.Don’t forget to include the ones at the very top and very bottom of the pineapple. Find one of these diagonal lines and count its scales.Also see how they make up diagonal rows or lines that encircle the pineapple. Notice how each scale sits at a slight angle and looks roughly like a pentagon, with each flat side touching the flat side of another scale. Look at the ‘scales’ making up the skin of your pineapple.What numbers do you get? Do any have four petals? Seven? Nine? Ten? Count the petals on each of your selection of flowers.So next time you’re admiring a bouquet of flowers, take a closer look and you might just see the miracle of science as well as the beauty of nature.Having trouble finding a four-leafed clover? This activity explains why! If you’re getting ready for some gardening, keep this activity in the back of your mind as you marvel at Mother Nature’s mathematics. 55, 89 Petals: michelmas daisies, the asteraceae family.21 Petals: aster, black-eyed susan, chicory.13 Petals: ragwort, corn marigold, cineraria.5 Petals: buttercup, wild rose, larkspur, columbine.In fact, the Fibonacci effect can be applied to many species of flowers in relation to their number of petals. Known as the ‘golden spiral’ the arrangement allows for the most compact containment of the petals (just think of the size of a rose bud in comparison to its fully opened bloom). That signature spiral isn’t just pretty to look at – like the sunflower head, its form has an essential function. A rose by any other pattern…įibonacci numbers also reveal themselves in the spiral of a rose bloom. As the individual seeds grow, the centre of the seed head is able to add new seeds, pushing those at the periphery outwards so the growth can continue indefinitely. In the case of sunflowers, Fibonacci numbers allow for the maximum number of seeds on a seed head, so the flower uses its space to optimal effect. The Fibonacci sequence is also closely related to the Golden Ratio – a number that has cropped up time and time again in human culture for thousands of years. In the 19th century it emerged that the sequence commonly occurred among the structures of the natural world, from the spirals of a pinecone to the seeds on a sunflower. It starts 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 and goes on forever. Named after a 13th century Italian Mathematician, Leonardo of Pisa who was known as Fibonacci, each number in the sequence is created by adding the previous two together.
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