Helianthus Annuus

The sunflowers are finally in bloom.  This is probably the most picturesque they are going to look – as the heads are just now starting to grow seeds and that means the birds will be diving in for dinner soon.

Of course nature is efficient, but still, this is a little amazing: The seeds within the head (actually considered fruit, but let’s call them seeds) grow in a spiral pattern.  They are angled at one another by geometry's  “golden angle,” which allows the head to pack in the most number of seeds possible.  This pattern of interconnecting spirals has something to do with a mathematical equation discovered by some guy from Pisa (Leonardo Fibonacci).  Thirty-four spirals one way and 55 spirals in the other direction – the ratio increasing depending on the size of the sunflower head.  Here's the pattern: