FIBONACCI SEQUENCE

The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers where a number is found by

adding up the two numbers before it. Starting with 0and 1, the sequence goes
0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34, ... and so forth. Written as a rule, the expression is
xn=xn−1+xn−2.Named after Fibonacci, also known as Leonardo of Pisa or
Leonardo Pisano, Fibonacci numbers were first introduced in his Liber abaci in
1202. The son of a Pisan merchant, Fibonacci traveled widely and traded
extensively. Math was incredibly important to those in the trading industry, and his
passion for numbers was cultivated in his youth Knowledge of numbers is said to
have first originated in the Hindu-Arabic arithmetic system, which Fibonacci
studied while growing up in North Africa. Prior to the publication of Liber abaci,
the Latin-speaking world had yet to be introduced to the decimal number system.
He wrote many books about geometry, commercial arithmetic and irrational
numbers. He also helped develop the concept of zero.

The Fibonacci Sequence is the series of numbers:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, ...

The next number is found by adding up the two numbers before it.

 The 2 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+1)

 The 3 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+2),

 And the 5 is (2+3),

 and so on!

Example: the next number in the sequence above is 21+34 = 55

Here is a longer list:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181, 6765, 10946, 17711, 28657, 46368,
75025, 121393, 196418, 317811,

The Rule

The Fibonacci Sequence can be written as a "Rule"

First, the terms are numbered from 0 onwards like this:

n= 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ...

xn = 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 ...

So term number 6 is called x6 (which equals 8).

 Example: the 8th term is
the 7th term plus the 6th term:

x8 = x7 + x6

So we can write the rule:

The Rule is xn = xn-1 + xn-2

where:

 xn is term number "n"

 xn-1 is the previous term (n-1)

 xn-2 is the term before that (n-2)

Example: term 9 is calculated like this:

x9= x9-1 + x9-2

= x8 + x7

= 21 + 13

= 34

Leaf and flower arrangements

Based on a survey of the literature encompassing

650 species and 12,500 specimens, R. Jean estimated
that, among plants displaying spiral or multijugate
phyllotaxis, about 92 percent of them have Fibonacci
phyllotaxis (from the Greek: Phyllo means leaf, and
taxis means arrangement). In most Aroids, a vast
group of beautiful ornamental plants, flowers are
arranged in a mathematical series. Clear spirals are
visible and the numbers of these spirals are usually a
pair of Fibonacci numbers. For example, all the
spadices of Anthurium macrolobium present floral spirals matching the Fibonacci numbers eight and five. The
Indian Statistical Institute and the Royal Agri-Horticultural Society dedicated an entire study to this topic. It
provides solid evidence to support these claims. Locate the lowest leaf of a green plant that hasn’t been pruned.
Count both the number of times you circle the stem of the plant before arriving at the leaf located directly above the
first one (pointing in the same direction), as well as the number of leaves above the lowest located leaf. The number
of rotations, of turns in each direction and the number of leaves met will be Fibonacci numbers! Of course, leaf
arrangements vary from species to species, but they should all be Fibonacci numbers. If the number of turns is x and
the number of leaves is y, specialists commonly call the leaf arrangement x/y phyllotaxis or x/y spiral. The
following ratios are the phyllotaxis ratios of different plants: