Dynamical Model Applet (Centric Representation)

This applet shows a model of primordia growth (represented by dots) at the apical meristem of a plant. The model is a dynamical system which implements Hofmeister's hypotheses: primordia form periodically, once formed they move radially at a certain rate, they form as far as possible from existing primordia. In this applet, we are using the radial velocity as a slowly decreasing parameter. This is equivalent to decreasing the plastochrone ratio, which is known to happen in plants at the onset of the flowering stage (inflorescence).

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How To Use This Applet

To stop the growth, click anywhere on the applet window. Click again to continue the growth.

To draw your own parastichies, click on the window to stop, and then click on draw. You can clear your drawing, and change color by pressing the appropriate buttons. To continue the growth after drawing, click on "draw" and then click on the window.

The button "show graph" shows the graphs of the divergence angle between successive primordia as a function of time (top graph) and the rate of growth (ratio of distances to the center of the successive primordia) as function of time (bottom graph).