Diffusion mechanism for phyllotaxis: theoretical physico-chemical and computer study.

The mechanism for leaf position determination by the diffusion of an inhibitor has been studied in relation to the geometry of leaf positions. A computer model has been constructed for the inhibitor-diffusion process on a cellular cylindrical surface. The behavior of the model has been analyzed mathematically. The main results are: (a) that our model generates most of the phyllotactic patterns observed in nature; and (b) that restraints have been found for permissible values of diffusion rates and decay rates of the hypothetical inhibitor.