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LiveScience
LiveScience
Olivia Ferrari

Plants self-organize in a 'hidden order,' echoing pattern found across nature

Aerial view of fairy circles in the Namib Naukluft Park, Namibia.

Scientists have uncovered a "hidden order" in drylands across the planet, where plants follow disordered hyperuniformity — a layout that looks random and disorganized up close but adheres to a clear pattern when viewed from farther away.

The findings explain phenomena like "tiger bush" in West Africa, where bands of plants look like tiger stripes from above, or "fairy circles" in Namibia that look like spots from far away but are actually clumps of plants. These plants are self-organized in a way that helps them cope with drought and function in extreme conditions.

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