I just uploaded a video here about Spiral Phyllotaxis patterns in OpenSCAD. The video, originally posted by me on YouTube some years ago, is about a script that I made to demonstrate Spiral Phyllotaxis. Phyllotaxis is a term used for patterns that emerge during the growth of plants. Spiral Phyllotaxis is observed in the heads of sunflowers, in pine-cones and pineapples, and in a variety of other plants.

The script that I wrote uses a mathematical description of Spiral Phyllotaxis called Vogel’s formula. Vogel’s formula actually exists of two equations, one for an angle theta, and one for a radius, describing the a pattern of seeds in a sunflower head. I’ll put a link in the description if you want to know more about Vogel’s formula. These simple equations can generate beautiful patterns that have some interesting mathematical properties.