There are more examples of Fibonacci numbers in nature that we haven’t covered here. … we see that each bump has bumps that form spirals, and each of those little bumps has bumps that form spirals! Hm, sounds like a fractal… There’s a vegetable called the romanesco, closely related to broccoli, that has some pretty stunning spirals.Īnd there’s more! Not only do the bumps form spirals, but if we look closely… Broccoli and cauliflower do, too, though it’s harder to see. You can find more examples around your kitchen! Pineapples and artichokes also exhibit this spiral pattern. Fibonacci can also be found in pinecones. This spiraling pattern isn’t just for flowers, either. If you’re feeling intrepid, count the spirals on that one and see what you get! Check out the seed head of this sunflower: See if you can find the spirals in this one!įibonacci spirals aren’t just for flower petals. where f n is the nth Fibonacci number and is the Golden Ratio. This can be generalized to a formula known as the Golden Power Rule.

(One of each is highlighted below.) Try counting how many of each spiral are in the flower – if you’re careful, you’ll find that there are 8 in one direction and 13 in the other. Notice that the coefficients of and the numbers added to the term are Fibonacci numbers. No, don’t start counting all the petals on that one! What we’re looking at here is a deeper Fibonacci pattern: spirals.

Here’s a different kind of Fibonacci flower: For example, there’s the classic five-petal flower:īut that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Try counting the petals on each of these! The number of petals on a flower, for instance, is usually a Fibonacci number. As it turns out, the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence appear in nature very frequently.

Fibonacci sequence in nature definition