Growth in plants: a study in number. (English) Zbl 1092.92032
Summary: Three models of plant phyllotaxis are presented. Phyllotaxis is shown to be governed by subtle properties of numbers which insure that the florets are arranged so as to have the most space and therefore have the greatest access to sunlight. The mathematical tools discussed are Farey series, Wythoff’s game, continued fractions, and a Fibonacci number system called Zeckendorf notation.