Strands, Gravity and Botanical Tree Imagery

This paper presents a technique for the modelling and rendering of realistic botanical tree images. A strand model is used that is analogous to the internal vascular structure of a tree. The model is “grown” under the simulated influence of gravity and light. The strand densities at each branching point are used to determine branching angles, branch lengths and branch thicknesses, taking into account stored, user definable parameters that characterize the species of tree being modelled. These parameters address such factors as gravimorphism, phototropism, orthotropism, plagiotropism, planartropism and phyllotaxis, and are distributed according to a branch ordering system.