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Annals of Botany 39: 491-507, 1975
© 1975 Annals of Botany Company

RESEARCH-ARTICLE

Phyllotaxis. I. A Mechanistic Model

J. H. M. THORNLEY

Glasshouse Crops Research Institute Littlehampton, Sussex, BN16 3PU

Received: 25 July 1974   

A quantitative two-dimensional model for phyllotaxis is described. The model is based on the production, diffusion and degradation of a morphogen, and it is assumed that primordial initiation can only take place in competent tissue when the morphogen concentration drops to a certain critical level. The model predicts the angles between successive primordia; under appropriate conditions a steady state is achieved where the divergence angle is constant; and for limiting values of the parameters, the predicted steady-state divergence angle approaches the Fibonacci angle. To account for non-spiral phyllotaxis, an additional hypothesis, called spatial competence, is introduced. As well as a morphogen level below the threshold level, and for competence in the usual sense, this assumes that particular spatial demands must be satisfied before primordial initiation can proceed.


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