Extraordinary accuracy in floret position of Helianthus annuus

Takuya Okabe

Abstract


Divergence angles were measured for inflorescences of Helianthus annuus with several hundreds to more than a thousand disk flowers. Quantitative analysis showed that the angles are robustly fixed in the vicinity of the ideal golden angle 137.508° as accurately as ~0.001°. The mean deviation from the ideal value varies for each sample. The results have important implications for phyllotaxis models, which are discussed by referring to a necessary modification proposed by Roberts.

Keywords


phyllotaxy; Asteraceae; contact pressure model; expanding apex model; Hofmeister’s rule

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5586/asbp.2015.007

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