The math that describes the branching pattern of trees in nature also holds for trees depicted in art—and may even underlie our ability to recognize artworks as depictions of trees. Trees are ...

Trees in nature follow a “self-similar” branching pattern called a fractal, in which the same structures repeat at smaller and smaller scales from the trunk to the branch tip. In the new study ...

Like the branches, twigs and leaves of a tree, fractals repeat the same patterns across different scales. Snowflakes, lightning bolts and human blood vessels are also fractal structures ...

As a scientist who studies branching patterns in living things ... The same principle appears in tree branches as well. The precise calibration of branch diameter leads to a hallmark of fractal ...

The most famous fractal snowflake pattern is known as the Koch ... and each of these branches is like a smaller tree in itself, developing its own branches and their own branches.

As a scientist who studies branching patterns in living things ... The same principle appears in tree branches as well. The precise calibration of branch diameter leads to a hallmark of fractal ...

To test their rule, Grigoriev and colleagues took photographs of trees from a variety of species and analyzed the branches to confirm that the real-world patterns matched the predictions.

Maple, Ash, Dogwood and Virburnum all have opposite branches. Very few other species do. Most other species of trees have alternate branching patterns, including oak, cherry, and cottonwood trees.