This is a stop-motion animation of a cactus on a turntable. For each frame of the animation the cactus is rotated 137.5º—the golden angle—which creates the illusion that the areoles are emerging from the center of the cactus. The reason this works is that the cactus grows by producing new areoles one at a time, with each new areole positioned 137.5º around the center from the previous areole. So, in a sense, the animation reiterates the cactus's growth process. (The irregularity of the movement is due to the areoles not being perfectly consistent in their placement, particularly toward the bottom of the cactus.)
Nature uses this same growth pattern in a wide variety of plant forms, including pine cones, sunflowers, artichokes, and many succulents. If you count the number of spirals on any of these plants you will find that they are always Fibonacci numbers.
I have created a unique type of sculpture I call a "bloom", which has the same golden-angle-based structure, and thus appears to come to life when rotated in the same manner. You can see examples of blooms here: vimeo.com/117674269, and learn more about how they are made here: instructables.com/id/Blooming-Zoetrope-Sculptures/
