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Mums & the Golden Ratio in Nature – NEPA

Nov 23rd, 2007
by fadingad.

Mums & the Golden Ratio - NEPA
© Frank H. Jump

Mums & the Golden Ratio in Nature

Posted in: Fibonacci, Golden Ratio, Horticulture, Mathematics.

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No Comments

  1. xrisfg says:
    November 23, 2007 at 4:30 am

    All the Asteracea (Aster or Daisy Family) exhibit this in their disk flowers.

  2. fadingad says:
    November 23, 2007 at 5:02 am

    Hey Kris! Can you help me out with the milk thistle? Are the burr and milk thistle one of the same or different species? 🙂 Frank

  3. xrisfg says:
    November 23, 2007 at 3:16 pm

    I don’t know my thistles! I’d have to look it up.

  4. Kity Kat says:
    May 23, 2008 at 6:14 pm

    hey ok so ive been reseraching the golden ratio and can someone please explain the consept of the mum flower and how it is related to the golden ratio???? please.

  5. fadingad says:
    May 24, 2008 at 4:23 am

    Here KityKat-

    I found this at another blog: Enjoy Gardening

    Do the Math

    But what is this incredible pattern? Without going into grueling detail, suffice it to say that the arrangement of plant structures is based on Fibonacci’s “golden ratio” or “golden section,” represented by the Greek letter phi. The golden ratio is .618 – not exactly enlightening unless you’re a mathematician, but, in essence, it means that most plants tend to grow in fixed-angle spirals or turns, starting from the centre and moving outward. So for every phi (.618) turn per leaf or seed, you get the best “packing” of plant material into a limited space. As a result, leaves capture more sunlight and channel rainfall in an optimal path that flows down the stem and straight to the roots, while flowers get the best possible exposure to pollinating insects.