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A leaflet (occasionally called foliole) in botany is a leaf-like part of a compound leaf.[1] Though it resembles an entire leaf, a leaflet is not borne on a main plant stem or branch, as a leaf is, but rather on a petiole or a branch of the leaf.[2] Compound leaves are common in many plant families and they differ widely in morphology.[3] The two main classes of compound leaf morphology are palmate and pinnate. For example, a hemp plant has palmate compound leaves, whereas some species of Acacia have pinnate leaves.
The ultimate free division (or leaflet) of a compound leaf, or a pinnate subdivision of a multipinnate leaf is called a pinnule or pinnula.
Old text edit
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble a complete leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families.
Leaflets borne on the central vein of a leaf are referred to as pinnae; the compound leaves themselves are described as pinnate. A plant may be further subdivided in that the pinnae are themselves split into leaflets, or pinnules; these leaves are now twice pinnate, or bipinnate. A few plant species even have tripinnate leaves.
New text edit
In botany, a leaflet is any of the leaf-like segments of a compound leaf.
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Pinnate leaf of a legume with 10 leaflets -
Mimosa pudica folding leaflets inward.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Walters, Dirk R.; Keil, David J. (1996). Vascular Plant Taxonomy (4th ed.). Dubuque, Iowa, USA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7872-2108-9.
- ^ "Types of Leaf Forms". Biology LibreTexts. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ Koch, Garance; Rolland, Gaëlle; Dauzat, Myriam; Bédiée, Alexis; Baldazzi, Valentina; Bertin, Nadia; Guédon, Yann; Granier, Christine (2018). "Are compound leaves more complex than simple ones? A multi-scale analysis". Annals of Botany. 122 (7) (published December 2018): 1173–1185. doi:10.1093/aob/mcy116. ISSN 0305-7364. PMC 6324747. PMID 29982438.
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