Nature's Numbers

1. A Consequential Countdown

Nature's Numbers

If you have ever looked for a four-leafed clover, you know that nature rarely plandelivers such a curiosity. Nearly every clover plant you check has the usual three leaves.

The leaves of clover plants typically occur in groups of three.

If you study the flowers in your garden or in the countryside, petals on different flowers, you'll discover that the most common number of petals, you'll discover that the most common number of petals seems to be five. Buttercups, geraniums, pansies, primroses, rhododendrons, tomato blossoms, and many more flowers all have five petals.

A flower with five petals.

You will also find flowers that have three petals (e.g. trillium), eight petals (delphinium), thirteen petals (ragwort), and twenty-one petals (black-eyed Susan).

A flower with 13 petals.

Fibonacci numbers—3, 5, 8, 13, and 21—crop up surprisingly often in plants, from the clustering of petals on a flower to the arrangement of leaves on a stem.

TRY IT!
Examine flower petals to find Fibonacci numbers.

You will need:

• books or catalogs with pictures of flowers, or actual flowers that you can observe in your yard or at a botanical garden
• pencil and paper (something for taking notes)

What to do:

• Count the number of petals on each flower and record the totals. Check several examples of the same species if possible to see if each flower of the same type has exactly the same number of petals. If they differ, record the most common number of petals.
• Check how many of your counts are Fibonacci numbers. Can you find any flowers for which the number of petals is not a Fibonacci number?

A flower with eight petals.

Five also shows up in arrangements of seeds. Cut an apple in half across its core (rather than the usual way down the core from the stem), and you'll see the seeds arranged in a beautiful five-pointed star.

What numbers do cucumbers, pears, and lemons feature?

Answers:

Some common exceptions are poppy flowers and dogwood flowers, both of which have four petals. Lilies often have six petals.

A flower with six petals.

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