Browse Books

Reviewer: Gabriel Constantin Barzescu

The connection between mathematics and beauty is no longer a surprise or a specialty of some exotic mathematicians or computer artists. This interesting book focuses on the beauty and symmetric structure of plants. The authors present rules that describe plant development over time, which lead to developmental algorithms. They use self-similarity to introduce the theory of fractals. The developmental processes are captured using the formalism of L-systems, which were introduced in 1968 by Lindenmayer. L-systems are an appropriate theoretical framework for studying the development of simple multicellular organisms; the authors apply this theory to plants and plant development. Models using L-systems can be combined with geometric features to allow the use of computer graphics for the realistic visualization of plant structures and developmental processes. The computer-aided visualization of plant structures and the processes that create them, which is based on modeling and rendering algorithms, joins science with art. This joining is not the only reason for the emphasis on computer graphics in this field. Comparing models with real structures contributes to model validation, and the display of parameters and processes that are not directly observable in living organisms may assist in the analysis of their physiology. The book contains eight chapters. The first chapter presents the general theory of L-systems in connection with formal language theory, the theory of algorithms, and computer modeling methods. Chapter 2 deals with the computer simulation of branching patterns and other aspects of the modeling of trees. The third chapter presents some developmental models of herbaceous plants. The fourth chapter deals with phyllotaxis—the regular arrangement of lateral organs of plants—and models describing it. Chapter 5 focuses on models of leaves and petals and their computer graphics representations. Chapter 6 presents important aspects of the use of animation to visualize plant development processes. The seventh chapter deals with microscopic modeling of plants. The authors discuss the implications of these methods for the modeling of more complex patterns. As expected, the theory of fractals and its influence on the modeling of plants have a place in the book. Chapter 8 covers the applications of fractals to the structural and developmental description of plants. An appendix gives ideas about conducting experiments in a “virtual laboratory,” using mathematical models visualized by means of computer graphics. The appendix includes a list of software needed in this virtual laboratory. The style and presentation assume only a general knowledge of mathematics. The book addresses not only computer graphics professionals and biologists but a much wider circle of readers interested in the description and visualization of nature. The comprehensive bibliography and the very good graphics and typography are among the best features of this book.