The geometric and dynamic essence of phyllotaxis

Abstract

We present a dynamic geometric model of phyllotaxis based on two postulates, primordia formation and meristem expansion. We find that Fibonacci, Lucas, bijugate and multijugate are all variations of the same unifying phenomenon and that the difference lies in the changes in position of initial primordia. We explore the set of all initial positions and color-code its points depending on the phyllotactic pattern that arises. © 2011 EDP Sciences.