The basic arrangements of leaves on a stem are opposite and alternate (also known as spiral). Leaves may also be whorled if several leaves arise, or appear to arise, from the … See more

The pattern of leaves on a plant is ultimately controlled by the accumulation of the plant hormone auxin in certain areas of the meristem. Leaves become initiated in localized … See more

Physical models of phyllotaxis date back to Airy's experiment of packing hard spheres. Gerrit van Iterson diagrammed grids imagined on a cylinder (rhombic lattices). Douady et al. showed that phyllotactic patterns emerge as self-organizing processes in … See more

• Anisophylly, a type of leaf size difference on horizontal shoots
• Available space theory
• Decussation
• Fermat's spiral
• L-system See more

The rotational angle from leaf to leaf in a repeating spiral can be represented by a fraction of a full rotation around the stem.
Alternate distichous leaves will have an angle of 1/2 of a full … See more

Some early scientists—notably Leonardo da Vinci—made observations of the spiral arrangements of plants. In 1754, Charles Bonnet observed that the spiral phyllotaxis of plants were … See more

Phyllotaxis has been used as an inspiration for a number of sculptures and architectural designs. Akio Hizume has built and exhibited several bamboo towers based on the Fibonacci sequence which exhibit phyllotaxis. Saleh Masoumi has proposed a design … See more