Phyllotaxis
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In botany, phyllotaxis or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem. Phyllotactic spirals form a distinctive class of patterns in nature.
Crisscrossing spirals of Aloe polyphylla
Veronicastrum virginicum has whorls of leaves separated by long internodes.
Distichous leaf arrangement in Clivia
A Lithops species, showing its decussate growth in which a single pair of leaves is replaced at a time, leaving just one live active pair of leaves as the old pair withers
Decussation
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Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing. In Latin anatomical terms, the form decussatio is used, e.g. decussatio pyramidum.
Phyllotaxis
…Strelitziaceae, where this leaf arrangement is a feature. In an opposite pattern, if successive leaf pairs are 90 degrees apart, this habit is called decussate. It is common in members of the family Crassulaceae Decussate phyllotaxis also occurs in the Aizoaceae. In genera of the Aizoaceae, such as Lithops and…
Decussate phyllotaxis of Crassula rupestris
In this "true bug", Dysdercus decussatus, the specific epithet refers to the bandolier-like markings on the back.