Phyllotaxis Spirals

In botany, phyllotaxis or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem (from Ancient Greek phýllon "leaf" and táxis "arrangement".) Supposedly, plants "know" how to grow optimally in order to excel and to survive while minimizing the energy needed and space in which to grow. While spying on the growth of the jackfruits on this tree, I can't help but to talk about the bumps on their skins. Look and you can discern the ubiquitous spiraling patterns. Similar to the spirals seen on many plants, the most famous of which is the seed pattern on the sun flowers, the jackfruits also exhibit phyllotaxis spirals. There are many scientific studies that investigate about the nature of these growths. One theory states that the spirals that develop according to the mathematical golden ratio (closely related to the Fibonacci sequence) achieve the most efficient packing of material in the most economical space. If you ever open a jackfruit, you will know what I mean. The pulps are tightly packed inside in a manner that is better than sardines in a can. So the skins cooperate and grow in wonderfully intriguing and beautiful patterns. You can see them on the upper part of the biggest fruit in this photo I took today. Ain't nature amazing?