Fibonacci in nature
The rabbit breeding problem that caused Fibonacci to write about the sequence in Liber abaci may be unrealistic but the Fibonacci numbers really do appear in nature. For example, some plants branch in such a way that they always have a Fibonacci number of growing points. Flowers often have a Fibonacci number of petals, daisies can have 34, 55 or even as many as 89 petals!
The rabbit breeding problem that caused Fibonacci to write about the sequence in Liber abaci may be unrealistic but the Fibonacci numbers really do appear in nature. For example, some plants branch in such a way that they always have a Fibonacci number of growing points. Flowers often have a Fibonacci number of petals, daisies can have 34, 55 or even as many as 89 petals!
Finally, next time you look at a sunflower, take the trouble to look at the arrangement of the seeds. They appear to be spiralling outwards both to the left and the right. There are a Fibonacci number of spirals! It seems that this arrangement keeps the seeds uniformly packed no matter how large the seed head.
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