Petal Numbers
Count the number of petals on flowers in your backyard, out in the country, or in a picture book. You’ll find that the number five keeps coming up. Hibiscus, periwinkle, Jasmine all have five petals.
You may also find flowers with 3 petals, and others with 8, 13, or even 21 petals. But it’s harder to find flowers with 4, 6, 7, or 10 petals (unless some have been nibbled).
Is there something special about the numbers 3, 5, 8, 13, and 21? As a matter of fact, there is.
To see that, start with 1.
Then add 1 + 1 = 2.
Keep doing this, and you get a pattern:
1 + 1 = 2
1 + 2 = 3
2 + 3 = 5
3 + 5 = 8
5 + 8 = 13
8 + 13 = 21, and so on.
This set of numbers, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, … goes on to infinity. They are called Fibonacci numbers, after the mathematician who made them famous.
Fibonacci numbers show up all over nature: in the spirals of pinecones and pineapples, in the swirls of snail shells, in flowers and leaves.
Why? It might have something to do with how plants and other living things grow, but no one knows for sure.
