Phyllotaxis A Systemic Study in Plant Morphogenesis [Hardcover]

The many facets of phyllotaxis are dealt with in an integrated manner for the first time.Phyllotaxis, the study of the patterns exhibited by leaves and other organs of plants, raises some of the deepest questions of plant morphogenesis. In this book, first published in 1994, the many facets of phyllotaxis are dealt with in an integrated manner for the first time.Phyllotaxis, the study of the patterns exhibited by leaves and other organs of plants, raises some of the deepest questions of plant morphogenesis. In this book, first published in 1994, the many facets of phyllotaxis are dealt with in an integrated manner for the first time.In this book, the many facets of phyllotaxis are dealt with in an integrated manner. The author describes a unified concept of phyllotaxis, and presents a mathematical model of plant growth based on experimental, anatomical, cellular, physiological, and paleontological observations. The model not only provides a framework for formal analyses of botanical data, but also emphasizes the relevance of phyllotaxis to other structures, such as crystals, and proteins.Prologue; Part I. Pattern Recognition: Introduction; 1. The centric representation; 2. The fundamental theorem and its applications; 3. Hierarchal control in phyllotaxis; 4. Allometry-type model in phyllotaxis; 5. Practical pattern recognition; Epilogue; Part II. Pattern Generation: A Key to the Puzzles: Introduction; 6. An interpretative model; 7. Testing the interpretative model; 8. The interpretative model and whorled patterns; 9. Convergences among models; Epilogue; Part III. Origins of Phyllotactic Patterns: Introduction; 10. Exotic phyllotaxis; 11. Morphogenetical parallelism and autoevolutionism; 12. The challenge redefined; Epilogue; Part IV. Complements: Introduction; Appendices; Bibliography; Indexes. ...an invaluable guide to the literature. For the beginning student it provides a clear introduction to the known facts, the basic concepts, and the questions to be answered.lC*