permaculture

[Jack Rowe <jackrowe@compuserve.com>]

Rene,

What a wonderful question! If you believe in accidents (I don't... Ambrose
Bierce's definition of an accident as "an inevitable occurence due to the
action of immutable natural laws" says it well), then it could just be the
goofiness of Nature (accidents, no -- Nature's cosmic sense of humor, yes).

Fantastic guesses with no credibility whatsoever:

Deep lobing... larger surface area with better resistance to catching and
tearing in wind? Slow evolution because of the way reinforcement by veins
would make leaves tear in wind? 

Serrations... something about the way the dew collects on each tip? Better
pulling of nighttime moisture from the air? Pointy shape 'bugs' leaf-eating
insects? (sorry). 

Beauty? Isn't beauty a functional adaptation in a world of sentient beings?
In aesthetically-pleasing pc systems, is
beauty a yield?

Jack