Page 87 - Photosynthesis: The Green Miracle

Harun Yahya

mathematician Fibonacci who discovered it. This rule embodies aesthetic
perfection, and is used as a basic measure in such disciplines as painting,
sculpture and architecture. This same sequence is frequently encountered in
nature, and serves as an important key to understanding the fine calcula-
tion and design in plants.
Ratios beyond 3/8 can be found in seaweed, cabbage, or in the ar-

rangements of seeds on the head of a sunflower, which go in spirals in both
directions. The florets of these plants turn in spirals as they circle around
the center from right or left, and the number of seeds per turn in the spirals
is determined according to the Fibonacci series. For example, the center of
a daisy uses three consecutive fractions: 13/34, 21/55 and 34/89. In other
words, the number of florets in each rotation around the center, and the an-
30
gles involved, are all determined beforehand. The Fibonacci series ap-
pears very frequently in nature. The fractions produced using these num-

bers give us what is known as the Golden ratio. In other words, when we
write down the consecutive fractions in the Fibonacci numbers, as shown
below, the divisions that result possess this Golden ratio, signifying com-
plete aesthetic perfection: 1/1, 1/2, 2/3, 3/5, 5/8, 8/13, 13/21, 21/34,
34/55, 55/89 . . . .
As we have seen, the sequence obtained by this means matches the

consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci series. We see this sequencing in pine
cones (5/8, 8/13), on pineapples (8/13), in the centers of daisies (21/34) and
in sunflowers (21/34, 34/55, 55/89) in the numbers of righthand and left-
hand spirals. The ratios emerging as a result imparts aesthetic beauty to
flowers, trees, seeds, sea shells and a great many other living things in na-
ture.
The place occupied in nature by the Golden ratio is by no means lim-
ited to this, but also manifests itself in the ideal leaf angles. As we know,

plant leaves are arranged to make the maximum use of solar rays. For ex-
ample, the angle between the leaves in a plant with a 2/5 leaf divergence is:
2 x 360 degrees / 5 = 144 degrees. 31

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