PHYLLOTAXIS AS A PHYSICAL SELF-ORGANIZED GROWTH-PROCESS

A specific crystalline order, involving the Fibonacci series, had unti l now only been observed in plants (phyllotaxis). Here, these patterns are obtained both in a physics laboratory experiment and in a numeric al simulation. They arise from self-organization in an iterative proce ss. They are selected depending on only one parameter describing the s uccessive appearance of new elements, and on initial conditions. The o rdering is explained as due to the system's trend to avoid rational (p eriodic) organization, thus leading to a convergence towards the golde n mean.