power of three

Neighbour T is, amongst many other things, an engineer, farmer, good guy and horticulturalist.

We were having a yarn over the fence as I was photographing these wild irises and he, in horticultural mode, said they were a classic example of the monocotyledon group of flowering plants.
Monocot floral parts are in multiples of 3 and this is such an example to say nothing of being a Fibonacci number.

A Fibonacci number is a series of numbers in which each number ( Fibonacci number ) is the sum of the two preceding numbers. The simplest is the series 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc.
It is nature's numbering system and, in plants, about growing in the most efficient ways.
For example
Fibonacci Petals
3 petals lily, iris
5 petals buttercup, wild rose, larkspur, columbine
8 petals delphiniums
13 petals ragwort, corn marigold, cineraria
21 petals aster, black-eyed susan, chicory
34 petals plantain, pytethrum
55, 89 petals michelmas daisies, the asteraceae family


Oooo, just love it!





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