Monks once hoped to turn lead into gold through alchemy. But consider the cauliflower instead. It takes just two genes to transform the ordinary stems, stalks and flowers of the weedy, tasteless ...

Scientists take a crack at recreating the hypnotic fractal spirals of the Romanesco cauliflower. Credit...Evan Sung for The New York Times Supported by By Sabrina Imbler Monks once hoped to turn lead ...

Through the process of domestication, humans have selected plants best suited to their needs, for example, those with larger fruits or seeds that remain attached to the spike. It was known that these ...

It has long been observed that many plants produce leaves, shoots, or flowers in spiral patterns. Cauliflower provides a unique example of this phenomenon, because those spirals repeat at several ...

A team of researchers has identified the genes responsible for the spiraling conical structures that comprise the Romanesco cauliflower, and have replicated these patterns in a small flowering plant ...

This week I’ve been investigating fractals. I’ll give you some examples of everyday fractals to get us started. See if you can find the common thread. Snowflakes, snails, ferns. Bonnie Blodgett Yup, ...

Etienne Farcot does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

The Romanesco cauliflower, one of the strangest looking vegetables because of its fractal florets, owes its unique shape to the fact that it forms from failed flowers. Like regular cauliflowers, ...