A collision-based model of spiral phyllotaxis

Abstract

Plant organs are often arranged in spiral patterns. This effect is termed spiral phyllotaxis. Well known examples include the layout of seeds in a sunflower head and the arrangement of scales on a pineapple. This paper presents a method for modeling spiral phyllotaxis based on detecting and eliminating collisions between the organs while optimizing their packing. In contrast to geometric models previously used for computer graphics purposes, the new method arranges organs of varying sizes on arbitrary surfaces of revolution. Consequently, it can be applied to synthesize a wide range of natural plant structures. CR Categories: I.3.5 [Computer Graphics]: Computational Geometry and Object Modeling: Curve, surface, solid and object representation. I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism. J.3 [Life and Medical Sciences]: Biology.