A new study has challenged long-held beliefs about the evolution of Fibonacci spirals in plants. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh used 3D modeling to examine a 407-million-year-old plant fossil and found that the ancient plants had a different type of spiral arrangement than what is commonly observed in nature today. This discovery suggests that Fibonacci spirals evolved down two separate paths and were not prevalent in the earliest terrestrial plants. The findings provide new insights into the evolution of leaf patterns in plants and reshape our understanding of leaf evolution.
A new study challenges the belief that Fibonacci spirals in plants are an ancient and highly conserved feature, dating back to the earliest stages of plant evolution. Researchers examined the spirals in the leaves and reproductive structures of a fossilized plant dating back 407 million years and discovered that all of the spirals observed in this particular species did not follow the Fibonacci sequence. The findings suggest that non-Fibonacci spirals were ancient in clubmosses, overturning the view that all leafy plants started out growing leaves that followed the Fibonacci pattern, and that Fibonacci spirals emerged separately multiple times throughout plant evolution.
Researchers have discovered evidence of non-Fibonacci spirals in a fossilized plant that lived approximately 407 million years ago, challenging the traditional belief that these spirals are a conserved trait originating from Earth’s first land-dwelling plants. The analysis revealed that the leaves and reproductive structures of Asteroxylon mackiei primarily followed non-Fibonacci spirals, a pattern that’s quite rare in present-day plants. The research implies that the evolutionary path of leaf spirals took two separate routes, with the leaves of ancient clubmosses carving out a distinct evolutionary history from other major groups of plants today, such as ferns, conifers, and flowering plants.
A 407-million-year-old plant fossil has challenged the long-held theory that Fibonacci spirals were common in the most ancient land plants. The fossil, Asteroxylon mackiei, was found to have non-Fibonacci spirals, indicating that the evolution of leaf spirals diverged into two separate paths. The discovery was made by an international team led by the University of Edinburgh, using digital reconstruction techniques to produce the first 3D models of leafy shoots in the fossil clubmoss. The findings transform scientists' understanding of Fibonacci spirals in land plants and suggest that ancient clubmosses had an entirely distinct evolutionary history to other major groups of plants today.
