Cauliflowers or how the perseverance of a plant to make flowers produces an amazing fractal structure

Abstract

Biological organisms have an immense diversity of forms. Some of them exhibit conspicuous and fascinating fractal structures that present self-similar patterns at all scales. How such structures are produced by biological processes is intriguing. In a recent publication, we used a multi-scale modelling approach to understand how gene activity can produce macroscopic cauliflower curds. Our work provides a plausible explanation for the appearance of fractal-like structures in plants, linking gene activity with development.

Keywords

• Biological fractals
• Plant development
• Multiscale modelling
• Cauliflower curds
• Flower
• Meristems
• Plant shapes