The leaf is a lateral, generally flattened structure borne on the stem. It develops at the node and bears a bud in its axil. The axillary bud later develops into a branch. Leaves originate from shoot apical meristems and are arranged in an acropetal order. They are the most important vegetative organs for photosynthesis.

A typical leaf consists of three main parts: leaf base, petiole and lamina (Figure 5.4 a). The leaf is attached to the stem by the leaf base and may bear two lateral small leaf like structures called stipules. In monocotyledons, the leaf base expands into a sheath covering the stem partially or wholly. In some leguminous plants the leafbase may become swollen, which is called the pulvinus. The petiole help hold the blade to light. Long thin flexible petioles allow leaf blades to flutter in wind, thereby cooling the leaf and bringing fresh air to leaf surface. The lamina or the leaf blade is the green expanded part of the leaf with veins and veinlets. There is, usually, a middle prominent vein, which is known as the midrib. Veins provide rigidity to the leaf blade and act as channels of transport for water, minerals and food materials. The shape, margin, apex, surface and extent of incision of lamina varies in different leaves.

Venation

The arrangement of veins and the veinlets in the lamina of leaf is termed as venation. When the veinlets form a network, the venation is termed as reticulate (Figure 5.4 b). When the veins run parallel to each other within a lamina, the venation is termed as parallel (Figure 5.4 c). Leaves of dicotyledonous plants generally possess reticulate venation, while parallel venation is the characteristic of most monocotyledons.

Types of Leaves

A leaf is said to be simple, when its lamina is entire or when incised, the incisions do not touch the midrib. When the incisions of the lamina reach up to the midrib breaking it into a number of leaflets, the leaf is called compound. A bud is present in the axil of petiole in both simple and compound leaves, but not in the axil of leaflets of the compound leaf.

The compound leaves may be of two types (Figure 5.5). In a pinnately compound leaf a number of leaflets are present on a common axis, the rachis, which represents the midrib of the leaf as in neem.

In palmately compound leaves, the leaflets are attached at a common point, i.e., at the tip of petiole, as in silk cotton.

Phyllotaxy

Phyllotaxy is the pattern of arrangement of leaves on the stem or branch. This is usually of three types – alternate, opposite and whorled (Figure 5.6). In alternate type of phyllotaxy, a single leaf arises at each node in alternate manner, as in china rose, mustard and sun flower plants. In opposite type, a pair of leaves arise at each node and lie opposite to each other as in Calotropis and guava plants. If more than two leaves arise at a node and form a whorl, it is called whorled, as in Alstonia.