Achyranthemum paniculatum flowerheads getting on in life

Old flowerheads also tell stories. These Achyranthemum paniculatum bracts whitened from age are still in decent shape, angled up and out, conforming to the posture fitting for its row. This creates a floral image although they are not the real flowers. The actual flowers are tiny, yellow disc florets positioned in a dense bunch in the centre of the circles of pointed bracts, have already departed from some flowerheads in the cluster.

In the ring of brown bracts on the left, the bare base of the flowerhead receptacle is showing. It is covered in arching rows of tiny holes where the floret bases had been attached before their departure. The pattern of these holes is repeated directly or in similar, regular patterns in many living things that grow in nature, representing the way in which the numbers of parts increase in an elegant series as the bodies increase in size.

This mathematical series followed in the growth pattern was discovered by the Italian, Fibonacci, many centuries ago. Go google Fibonacci for a fascinating story. A recognisable arty arrangement of floral, leafy or other body parts comes about from the number progression much repeated in the growth of living things in nature.

At the top of the cluster, the fluffy floret tips of another flowerhead are still present in their inner ring of brown bracts, concealing the art of their physical configuration. But maybe not for long, as the would-be tourists, the fruits, get ready for departing on the adventure of searching lives for seeds.