How the golden ratio manifests in nature

By: Catie Leary

July 27, 2015, 9 a.m.

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 phenomena in nature — whether it’s a simple houseplant (like the aloe plant above) or an expansive spiral galaxy (like the spiral galaxy, Messier 83, seen below), they all originate from the same mathematical concepts. Read more.