Phyllotaxis, Pushed Pattern-Forming Fronts and Optimal Packing
Analysis of PDEs
2015-06-12 v1 Dynamical Systems
Abstract
We demonstrate that the pattern forming partial differential equation derived from the auxin distribution model proposed by Meyerowitz, Traas and others gives rise to all spiral phyllotaxis properties observed on plants. We show how the advancing pushed pattern front chooses spiral families enumerated by Fibonacci sequences with all attendant self similar properties and connect the results with the optimal packing based algorithms previously used to explain phyllotaxis. Our results allow us to make experimentally testable predictions.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1301.4190,
title = {Phyllotaxis, Pushed Pattern-Forming Fronts and Optimal Packing},
author = {Matthew Pennybacker and Alan C. Newell},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1301.4190},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
4 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letters