"The leaves along a twig of a plant or the stems along a branch tend to grow in positions that would optimize their exposure to sun, rain, and air. As the vertical stem grows it produces leaves at quite regular spacings. However, the leaves do not grow directly one above the other, because this would shield the lower leaves from the moisture and sunlight they need. Rather, the passage from one leaf to the next (or from one stem to the next along a branch) is characterized by a screw-type displacement around the stem. Similar arrangements of repeating units can be found in a pinecone or the seeds of a sunflower. This phenomena is called phyllotaxis ('leaf arrangement" in Greek), a word coined in 1754 by the Swiss naturalist Charles Bonnet (1720-1793)."
p.109, THE GOLDEN RATIO: THE STORY OF PHI THE WORLD'S MOST ASTONISHING NUMBER by Mario Livio (Broadway Books, NY: 2003)
Monday, October 20, 2014
DON'T BLOCK THE BLESSINGS
DON'T BLOCK THE BLESSINGS: LIGHT, WATER, FOOD, & AIR. BE LIKE THE PLANTS!
"The leaves along a twig of a plant or the stems along a branch tend to grow in positions that would optimize their exposure to sun, rain, and air. As the vertical stem grows it produces leaves at quite regular spacings. However, the leaves do not grow directly one above the other, because this would shield the lower leaves from the moisture and sunlight they need. Rather, the passage from one leaf to the next (or from one stem to the next along a branch) is characterized by a screw-type displacement around the stem. Similar arrangements of repeating units can be found in a pinecone or the seeds of a sunflower. This phenomena is called phyllotaxis ('leaf arrangement" in Greek), a word coined in 1754 by the Swiss naturalist Charles Bonnet (1720-1793)."
p.109, THE GOLDEN RATIO: THE STORY OF PHI THE WORLD'S MOST ASTONISHING NUMBER by Mario Livio (Broadway Books, NY: 2003)
"The leaves along a twig of a plant or the stems along a branch tend to grow in positions that would optimize their exposure to sun, rain, and air. As the vertical stem grows it produces leaves at quite regular spacings. However, the leaves do not grow directly one above the other, because this would shield the lower leaves from the moisture and sunlight they need. Rather, the passage from one leaf to the next (or from one stem to the next along a branch) is characterized by a screw-type displacement around the stem. Similar arrangements of repeating units can be found in a pinecone or the seeds of a sunflower. This phenomena is called phyllotaxis ('leaf arrangement" in Greek), a word coined in 1754 by the Swiss naturalist Charles Bonnet (1720-1793)."
p.109, THE GOLDEN RATIO: THE STORY OF PHI THE WORLD'S MOST ASTONISHING NUMBER by Mario Livio (Broadway Books, NY: 2003)