[...]
> <<sidelight: here's an extra credit problem for any
> adaptationists in the crowd. Successive pairs of the
> Fibonacci series define the phyllotaxy patterns of
> leaves on a plant. In the case of spiral phyllotaxis,
> successive leaves are located at angles that
> divide the meristem in proportions of the Golden
> Section. How would natural selection account for
> such a precise arrangement? Or is it design ;-) >>
Obviously design ;-). But I'm not clear on what is
the case. What are these patterns, and what exactly
do the successive pairs of F. numbers determine?
What is the meristem and which angles are in the
proportion of the Golden Ratio? (Is this true for
all plants, or just some or what?)
-Greg