Fractal dimension based features are useful descriptors of leaf complexity and shape

An application of fractal dimensions as measures of leaf complexity to morphometric studies and automated plant identification is presented. Detailed algorithms for the calculation of compass dimension and averaged mass dimension together with a simple method of grasping the scale range related variability are given. An analysis of complexity of more than 300 leaves from 10 tree species is reported. Several classical biometric descriptors as well as 16 fractal dimension features were computed on digitized leaf silhouettes. It is demonstrated that properly defined fractal dimension based features may be used to discriminate between species with more than 90% accuracy, especially when used together with other measures. It seems, therefore, that they can be utilized in computer identification systems and for purely taxonomical purposes.