Statistical Distribution Functions for Daffodil Plants – Directions & Numbers

Abstract

The daffodil plant (N. pseudo-Narcissus) typically makes its first appearance during March of each year, as early as March 1st following a warm winter, (Hanks, 2003; Greene et al. 2019). (Of course, these initial dates may occur 1 or 2 weeks later just 200 miles North to Boston, or 1 or 2 weeks earlier 200 miles South to Washington D.C.) Similar to the photo-sensitive responsibilities (also called heliotropic or phototropic responses) of sunflower plants (the Helianthus, Vandenbrink et al., 2014), daffodil plants also align and position their flower stems during development, with respect to sunrise, noontime, and sunset, so as to collect maximum solar radiation averaged throughout the day. The development phase, from ground level breakthrough to the appearance of flowers, usually takes 3 to 5 weeks, after that, the flowers last 3 or 4 weeks and then wilt. Remarkably, as shown in Fig. 1 below, for each plant, most of the flowers seem to "agree", concurring on the optimal direction, which is usually Eastward facing, but can sometimes be South, West, or North (listed in descending preferred order). Figure1. Normal growth of the daffodil plant, 3rd week of April Introduction cont In terms of plant mechanics, elastic modulus, stem bending, and buckling characteristics are measured