Phyllotaxis: A Systemic Study in Plant Morphogenesis

Phyllotaxis, the study of the patterns exhibited by leaves and other organs of plants, raises some of the deepest questions of plant morphogenesis. What principles of biological organisation produce these dynamical geometric systems? The constant occurrence of the Fibonacci sequence in such systems is a phenomenon that has fascinated botanists and mathematicians for centuries. In this book, first published in 1994, the many facets of phyllotaxis are dealt with in an integrated manner for the first time. The author describes a unified concept of phyllotaxis based on experimental, anatomical, cellular, physiological and paleontological observations. The book provides a framework for formal analyses of botanical data and emphasises the relevance of the phyllotactic paradigm in the study of other structures, such as crystals and proteins. It is of interest to cystallographers and physicists as well as to botanists and mathematicians.