The Golden Ratio is sometimes called the Divine Proportion because it is often observed in nature, and some believe that it is God's signature.
The sunflower is one of those naturally occurring phenomena. This script demonstrates the connection between the Golden Ratio and the location of seeds on a sunflower.
The Golden Ratio is used in the calculation of the seed distance from the center as well as the seed angle. Compare this model with a true sunflower!
Note: It is well-documented that the Golden Ratio is observed in the angular
geometry of seeds in sunflowers, coneflowers and pinecones, as well as
other plants and natural phenomena. However, little regard has been paid, it seems, to the distance of each seed from the center. When I looked at sunflowers and coneflowers, I noticed that the density of seeds is not uniform throughout. Seeds toward the center are smaller than the seeds near the edges, and thus, their density is greater. This file makes a connection between the Golden Ratio and the seed distance from the center of the sunflower. This accounts for the growth of each seed over time, and provides a better model for seed location than linear distance from center. |
