This addons simply consists of three static methods that implements a model that describes the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem, called phyllotaxis.

It can be used to position the elements of a collection composed by 2D or 3D forms. For example, assuming you have a bunch of ofBoxPrimitive in a vector, it can be used in a loop like this:

// initialize a collection
children vector<ofBoxPrimitives>;
int nCubes = 400;
for (int i = 0;  i < nCubes; i++) {
    children.push_back(ofBoxPrimitive(5,5,5));
}

// iterate and position items
float rad = ofDegToRad(137.5);
float spread = 0.3;
for (int i = 0;  i < nCubes; i++) {
    glm::vec3 pos;
    pos = ofxPhyllotaxis::simple(i, rad, spread);
    children[i].setPosition(pos);
}

In the example application, it is used in a 3D scene. It provides 3 methods slightly differents from each other.

glm::vec3 simple(const int i, const float angleInRadians, const float spread)

i is the current index in the iteration

angleInRadian is the angle that is used in the phyllotaxis. It needs to be expressed in radians

spread defines how much each element should be distant from the previous one

glm::vec3 conical(const int i, const float angleInRadians,const float spread, const float extrude)

The parameters are the same as before, except

extrude defines how much the elements should be pushed on the y axis

I did not find any better name, feel free to give me suggestions. The following picture is taken from "inside the apple".

glm::vec3 apple(const int i, const float angleInRadians, const float spread, const int total)

The parameter total indicates the total number of the element in the collection.