How the Golden Ratio Manifests in Nature

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Updated December 3, 2019

Aloe polyphylla, also known as spiral aloe, naturally grows in this distinctive spiral shape. (Photo: picturepartners/Shutterstock)

The universe may be chaotic and unpredictable, but it's also a highly organized physical realm bound by the laws of mathematics. One of the most fundamental (and strikingly beautiful) ways these laws manifest is through the golden ratio.

It's not hard to find examples of this logarithmic phenomenon in nature — whether it's a simple houseplant (like the aloe plant) or an expansive spiral galaxy (like the spiral galaxy, Messier 83), they all originate from the same mathematical concepts.

Messier 83, a spiral galaxy located 15 million light-years away from Earth. (Photo: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)/Acknowledgement: William Blair, Johns Hopkins University)

The golden ratio (often represented by the Greek letter φ) is directly tied to a numerical pattern known as the Fibonacci sequence, which is a list composed of numbers that are the sum of the previous two numbers in the sequence. Often referred to as the natural numbering system of the cosmos, the Fibonacci sequence starts out simply (0+1= 1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8...), but before long, you'll find yourself adding up numbers in the thousands and millions (10946+17711=28657, 17711+28657=46368, 28657+46368=75025...) and it just keeps going on forever like that.

When the golden ratio is applied as a growth factor (as seen below), you get a type of logarithmic spiral known as a golden spiral.

Learn more about the Fibonacci sequence and natural spirals in this fascinating video series by mathematician Vi Hart, who talks fast, but she's interesting and will remind you of the way your brain once hopped from subject to subject:

As Hart explains, examples of approximate golden spirals can be found throughout nature, most prominently in seashells, ocean waves, spider webs and even chameleon tails! Continue below to see just a few of the ways these spirals manifest in nature.