"If you look closely at the head of a sunflower, you will see that the structures destined to become seeds grow in an intricate pattern of interwoven spirals. S

"If you look closely at the head of a sunflower, you will see that the structures destined to become seeds grow in an intricate pattern of interwoven spirals. Such patterns, which seem to occur only in plants, have fascinated people and inspired a number of mathematical studies. Now two French scientists have set up a physical model that behaves in exactly the same way, producing the distinctive spiral patterns."