29 April, 2010
How to grow a leaf (algorithmically)
David Young at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory came up with an algorithm that's able to generate a wide variety of leaf shapes, starting only from a leaf's veins. The paper publishing the algorithm [PDF link] implies that leaf shape is simply a byproduct of the growth algorithm programmed into a plant's cells.
The algorithm doesn't actually create more cells, but moves around the borders of the leaf, governed by a few simple rules. It seems straight-forward enough to extend the algorithm to include the concept of cell division.
