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Suppose a holomorphic function near zero has expansionThe Leau-Fatou flower theorem gives $k$ attracting petals for forward iteration and $k$ repelling petals for the local inverse, alternating around the parabolic fixed point. They can be chosen so that together with zero they cover a neighborhood. Within an attracting petal, every forward orbit tends to zero along its attracting direction.^[ref]

The change of variable $w=-1/(ka{z}^k)$ explains the geometry: substitution gives $w(f(z))=w(z)+1+o(1)$. Iteration therefore behaves like translation far out in a half-plane, and the $k$ inverse branches produce the $k$ petals. In particular $z_n^k\sim -1/(kan)$ along an attracting orbit. For $f(z)=z+z^2$, small negative real points approach zero like $-1/n$, while small positive real points move away. A derivative equal to one hides dynamics that the first nonlinear term reveals.

A parabolic basin consists of points that eventually enter an attracting direction of a parabolic cycle. For a suitable return iterate, an attracting petal is a forward-invariant open region with the periodic point on its boundary, and the return iterates tend to that point there. The union of its inverse images is an open parabolic basin contained in the Fatou set; the Fatou components meeting the attracting petals form the immediate basin. Its boundary lies in the Julia set.

The parabolic cycle itself and points that land exactly on it belong to the Julia set, so mere pointwise convergence to that cycle is not the definition of the open parabolic basin. For $f(z)=z+z^2$, zero is a fixed point with periodic-orbit multiplier one. Small negative real starting values approach zero without reaching it, whereas zero itself is a Julia set point. The reflected example parabolic disk for z minus z squared gives an explicit forward-invariant region and a quantitative convergence bound.^[ref]

For a rational map of degree of a rational map of the Riemann sphere at least two, a parabolic cycle is a cycle of a holomorphic map whose periodic-orbit multiplier is a root of unity. If the exact period is $p$ and the multiplier has order $q$, the return iterate $f^{pq}$ has multiplier one. In a local coordinate $u$ centred at a point of the cycle it has the formThe nonzero nonlinear term gives attracting petals and repelling petals, with the former underlying a parabolic basin. A multiplier of modulus one with irrational argument is not parabolic.

For $f_c(z)=z^2+c$ at $c=1/4$, the fixed point $z=1/2$ has multiplier one. The translation $z=1/2+u$ gives the exact local map $u\mapsto u+u^2$, exposing the nonlinear term responsible for attraction from one direction and repulsion from another. The parabolic cycle belongs to the Julia set even though nearby points in its parabolic basin approach it.^[ref]

A repelling petal for a holomorphic map at a parabolic fixed point is an attracting petal for its local inverse. The inverse exists near the fixed point because the multiplier is nonzero. Backward iterates remain in the petal and approach the fixed point, whereas a nonzero point followed forward eventually leaves the small repelling region.

For $f(z)=z+a{z}^{k+1}+O(z^{k+2})$, its inverse begins $f^{-1}(z)=z-a{z}^{k+1}+O(z^{k+2})$. Repelling directions for $f$ therefore have $a{z}^k$ positive real, alternating with the attracting directions. The Leau-Fatou flower theorem provides $k$ petals of each kind.

For $f(z)=z+z^2$, small positive real points increase under forward iteration, while the inverse branch $f^{-1}(z)=(-1+\sqrt{1+4z})/2$ moves them toward zero. This verifies the direction of repulsion without treating multiplier one as an expanding linear map.^[ref]