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Cactus Mathematics

If you visit Arizona you can hardly fail to miss the impressive saguaro cacti that march up the foothills of the mountains near Tucson. So it's not totally surprising to find that a bunch of Arizona mathematicians have turned their minds to the beautiful patterns in cacti. In particular, how do the striking patterns of ribs arise? Patrick Shipman and Alan Newell, at the University of Arizona in Tucson, have provided an important part of the answer. It all depends on elasticity. A Saguaro Cactus outside Cave Creek Arizona Since ancient times, people have noticed strange numerical patterns in plants. Marigolds have 13 petals, asters have 21, daisies have 34, 55, or 89, and sunflowers have 55, 89, or 144. These numbers have been familiar to mathematicians since 1202, when the Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa posed a problem about rabbits. His somewhat unrealistic rabbit population increased according to a fascinating sequence of numbers: 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 23...
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CLOUD FORMATIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Lenticular cloud, Mt. Fuji, Japan Altocumulus lenticularis is one of the more obviously 'bizarre' cloud types -- they don't occur too frequently, so when you see one, you take notice. They often form above or near mountains, as moist air flows rapidly over a rise in elevation. Mt. Fuji makes a pretty sweet base for this one.   Lenticular cloud, Mt. Fuji, Japan Altocumulus lenticularis is one of the more obviously 'bizarre' cloud types -- they don't occur too frequently, so when you see one, you take notice. They often form above or near mountains, as moist air flows rapidly over a rise in elevation. Mt. Fuji makes a pretty sweet base for this one. Asperatus formation, Canterbury, New Zealand This one's so rare it doesn't even have official classification. "Undulatus asperatus" is its proposed designation, and if accepted as a new form by meteorologists, it'll be the first such addition since 1951. As of now, it's just another exa...
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