野花、美人及乡村歌曲
（一）野花与对称性
去年初春，播种野花纯属偶然。在Lowes商店里看到一盆独特的花草（Gaura lindheimeri），符合想象中野花的样子，简朴、低调、坚韧、明显的花瓣对称美。后来一查，叫山桃草，如图1(a)。其简单的四瓣花呈现单一镜面对称性特征（bilaterally symmetric）。花似盾，叶如矛，指向天际，好一个“野”字！于是，还买了一袋野花籽(Pennington South Garden Wildflowers)，撒种在自制的花圃里，花开延续了两个春夏，认识了十多种以前不知名的野花。
图1(a)山桃草; (b)二色科林花（Collinsia concolor Greene）属于单一低对称性花类。
图2(a)四瓣野花（Papaver dubium），对称性则比图1要高一些。图2(b)野花（Lobularia maritima）花瓣更加规整，对称性更高。
图3 (a) 唯一的七瓣花；(b) “无名”野花；(c) 天人菊（Gaillardia pulchella）和美洲原生平原金鸡菊（Plains coreopsis）。
作为植物外行，却对花瓣对称性充满好奇，因为联想到无机晶体世界，推测花瓣对称性的微观属性。Google关键词“对称性（symmetry） + 花（flower）”，结果不意外，植物学家可以通过改变花的一组特别的基因，来改变花的外观对称性或者花朵外观[1]。其中一种解释认为，花为了吸引飞虫和繁衍需要，花瓣倾向进化为更高对称性，或者更复杂鲜艳的样子，甚至整体看不出花瓣对称性，换句话说，完全对称了。我们知道，晶体对称性可以改变，要么加温激发固有的奔放，要么压力导致空间的自由被挤压和约束，适应“环境”，甚至包容缺陷，对称性改变成为一种妥协。当野花的花瓣多了，花瓣数有了统计涨落特征[2]，或另一种说法，花瓣数倾向于成斐波那契数列中的某个数（或称为斐波那契花，Fibonacci Flowers）[3]，植物学家对花瓣数异常有各种说法。因此，当自己看到花圃里唯一一朵传说中的七瓣花、图3(a)，惊奇之后，大概率属于花瓣数“异常”。同类八瓣花数里出现九、甚至十瓣花“异常”，见怪不怪了。7、10都不是斐波那契数列中的数，通常花瓣（或者花蕾）斐波那契数是空间高效率排列（生长）的一种选择[3]，类似地，晶体内原子的空间高效平移排列，失去了美丽的五重对称性。
（二）五瓣花和美人脸
图4 各种五瓣野花
在花圃里，五瓣花有八种之多，没有出现同类五花瓣数异常。五瓣花令人关注，因为其一，五对称性被认为是生命与非生命之间的一个分水岭，其二，五瓣花朵包含着黄金分割（Φ=1.61803…），因此跟美人脸模型联系起来了。
最近一篇有关英国伦敦整形医生Julian DeSilva的美人脸模型报道[4]撞入眼帘，医生这样描述道：“黄金比例一直被认为是美丽密码，计算机映像（mapping）数字技术的发展，可以通过计算把黄金比例用于真实的女性面部。” 早在2016年[5]，他在人脸部选择12个关键点，定量分析的十个美女中赫然出现好莱坞明星安柏·赫德（Amber Heard）的名字，因为前段时间她和前夫约翰尼·德普（Johnny Depp）的官司刷屏，成了避不开的八卦。当年（2016）Dr. Julian DeSilva是否有蹭热度之嫌，有可能，不过他定量分析显示，安柏·赫德面部和标准模型契合度达91.85%，她的鼻子更高达98%，图5(a)（注：完美鼻子长度：鼻子宽度=1.6180，用手机app里的尺子，很容易测量估算鼻子的长宽比和黄金比例相差多少。)，被誉为拥有一张“科学完美脸”（A Scientifically “Perfect” Face）的标致女人。然而，Julian DeSilva的脸模不是唯一一种，Dr. Stephen R. Marquardt的模型更直接和五边形联系起来，如文章中[6]的五边形几何图案和完美人脸型匹配演变GIF动态图所示，看起来更复杂，的确不如Dr. Julian DeSilva的模型来得直接, 不过，它们都基于黄金分割概念，只是“算法”（即如何分割比例）不同而已。当Dr. Julian DeSilva用黄金比例生成一个100%（虚拟）完美人脸，如图5(b)[5]，第一反应竟然是Oops！是否有点让人失望？如果习惯于东方审美，此标准脸的下颚是否有点长了，前额是否有点高宽？是否需要一个高挑适当的身材与之匹配？ 显然，我们知道，美是一个整体视觉感受（包括个性及品行），而且，事实是，对整体的完美感受多来自于，牺牲局部的完美，建立整体完美，野花已经给了一个非常好示范，特别是下面的矢车菊（Centaurea cyanus）。因此，非常赞同Dr. Kirk Bass[7]在文章“什么定义了真正的美？”所表达的看法：“我们相信， 我们表现出来的真正美丽来自于我们和爱人、家庭和朋友之间的美好关系。”
图5黄金比例完美脸[4，5]。
（三）组合花与不完美
在花圃里，矢车菊最为显眼（图6），它已经看不出具有什么样的对称性，或完全对称了。如果仔细观察，不像通常称为菊花的花，它由很多独立小花朵组合成一大朵，而且小花的花瓣数并不统一，五、六、七、八片花瓣都有，各花瓣明显地大小不一，但基本保留了镜面对称性。当它们组合成一朵大花，整体和谐，漂亮，因此，牺牲局部的完美，花儿懂得“舍小求大”。
图6 矢车菊
（四）乡村歌曲《野花》
野花自由自在、四海为家，吸引了众多音乐人为她们而歌，比如，中文歌曲有田震，林忆莲，陈盈潔，梦然，英文歌曲有Dillon Chase，5 Seconds of Summer，Beach House，Dylan Bloom, The JaneDear Girls，AVA, Avery Roberson, Tom Petty, Blake Shelton等。
如果要从中选两首，非歌手Tom Petty和Blake Shelton的《wildflower》莫属。音乐评论谈到Tom Petty创作的《野花》时，有些近乎绝望地说：“野花”不仅仅是美的象征，而且是一种无法拥有、而不被毁掉的美丽。（“Wildflower” isn’t just a metaphor for beauty, but a beauty you can’t possess without ruining it. ），在20年婚姻结束之际Tom心痛彻悟：“你属于自由自在的地方”（“You belong somewhere you feel free” ），无数人被这首朴实歌曲所打动，他要表达的也许是，如果爱或者喜欢一个人，就应该让她感受到自由自在。Blake Shelton的《野花》则有些不同，油然而生一种可贵的侠骨柔情，他懂野花，懂她的似水柔情，林忆莲曾经以一种完全不同的风格翻唱过这首英文歌曲，她还唱了另外一首自己的粤语《野花》，Blake Shelton的乡村味更浓。最后，女歌手AVA的新歌《野花》值得分享，Éabha McMahon是前Celtic Woman歌唱组合成员之一，AVA是艺名，2020年开始单独出歌曲，这一首清新的歌曲（2021）简单直接表达了女人自己心目中有个地方，那里花儿盛开，AVA唱道：
“…
她说
我知道一个地方
野花盛开
万紫千红的海洋
粉色、黄色、蓝色
…”
————————————-
1）梦然—野花
2）乡村歌曲：Wildflower (2008) by Blake Shelton
3）乡村歌曲：Wildflower by Dean Brody
4）Wildflower (2021) by AVA
5）Tom Petty covered by The Wailin’ Jennys
歌词来自网络
Wildflower by Blake Shelton
She's faced the hardest times you could imagine
And many times her eyes fought back the tears
And when her youthful world was about to fall in
Each time her slender shoulders bore the weight of all her fears
And a sorrow no one hears
Still rings in midnight silence, in her ears
Let her cry, for she's a lady
Let her dream, she's a child
Let the rain fall down upon her
Be careful how you touch her, she'll awaken
As sleep's the only freedom that she knows
And when you walk into her eyes, you won't believe
The way she's always paying for a debt she never owes
And a silent wind still blows
That only she can hear, so she goes
Let her cry, for she's a lady
Let her dream, she's a child
Let the rain fall down upon her
She's a free and gentle flower, growing wild
Let her cry, oh, she's a lady
Let her dream, 'cause she's a child
Let the rain fall down upon her
She's a free and gentle flower growing wild
She's a flower growing wild, she's a flower growing wild
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Doug Edwards / David Richardson
Wildflower lyrics © Edsel Music
Wildflower by Dean Brody
I was living in a world without color
Like an old photograph
Flying down the road never looked
At what I might have passed
But when I met you, girl
I just had to slow down
You were beautiful but different
You turned this ol' boy around
You're a wildflower
You caught my eye at the side of the road
You're a wildflower
Girl, that's what makes you so beautiful
I love how your pretty shy smile
Can light up a room
The way that you talk, share your secrets
How your body moves
You got a way about you
That stands out in a crowd
What you think are imperfections
Are what I couldn't live without
You're a wildflower
You caught my eye at the side of the road
You're a wildflower
Girl, that's what makes you so beautiful, yeah, oh
I used to wonder
If love was out there somewhere
With all the millions of people
It was you I saw there
'Cause you're a wildflower
You caught my eye at the side of the road
You're a wildflower
Girl, that's what makes you so beautiful
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Dean McWhinnie
Wildflower lyrics © Ole Media Management Lp
Wildflower (2021) by AVA
Inside her garden
The wildflowers grew
Painted with colours
Pink, yellow and blue
Falling in circles
The petals flew down
They Jumped up the garden
And danced through the town
She said
I know of a place
Where wild flowers grow
A sea of bright colours
Pink, blue and yellow
Gathered by children
They ran to the sea
Releasing wildflowers
So they could be free
The petals swam up
To the next little town
Saved by a lady
She said
I know of a place
Where wild flowers grow
A sea of bright colours
Pink, blue and yellow
Like treasure they hid
Within an old book
When one day her daughter
Would finally look
She found the wildflowers
Beside them a note
A poem from her mother
And on it she wrote
She said
I know of a place
Where wild flowers grow
A sea of bright colours
Pink, blue and yellow
I know of a place
Where wild flowers grow
A sea of bright colours
Pink, blue and yellow
参考：
[1] Genetic Analysis of Floral Symmetry in Van Gogh's Sunflowers Reveals Independent Recruitment of CYCLOIDEA Genes in the Asteraceae
https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1002628
[2]“七片花瓣的小花，并不是只出现在童话里” https://m.guokr.com/article/448126/w
[3]Fibonacci Flowers
https://www.gkochert.com/fibonacci-flowers/
[4] Famous Surgeon Claimed Amber Heard’s Face is the “Most Beautiful In The World”
https://tiffytaffy.com/amber-heards-face-most-beautiful/
[5] Amber Heard has the most beautiful face in the world, according to science - followed by Kim Kardashian and Kate Moss (who has a perfect forehead) (2016/07/14)
[6] Beauty in the Human Face and the Golden Ratio
https://www.goldennumber.net/beauty/
[7] What is the Definition of True Beauty?
https://sheaaestheticclinic.com/blog/what-is-the-definition-of-true-beauty
