Solving the riddle of phyllotaxis Why the Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio occur on plants

The term Phyllotaxis refers to the patterns on plants formed by the arrangement of repeated biological units. In nearly all cases, the Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio occur in these arrangements. This topic has long fascinated scientists. Over a period of more than two decades, Irving Adler wrote a number of papers that construct a rigorously derived mathematical model for Phyllotaxis, which are major and enduring contributions to the field. These papers are collected in this reprint volume to enable their access to a wider readership.

• A Model of Contact Pressure in Phyllotaxis
• A Model of Space Filling in Phyllotaxis
• The Consequences of Contact Pressure in Phyllotaxis
• An Application of the Contact Pressure Model of Phyllotaxis to the Close Packing of Spheres around a Cylinder in Biological Fine Structure
• The Role of Continued Fractions in Phyllotaxis
• The Role of Mathematics in Phyllotaxis
• Generating Phyllotaxis Patterns on a Cylindrical Point Lattice