Leaflet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the publishing use of the term "leaflet", see pamphlet.
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire 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.
A tomato plant has leaflets on compound leaves.
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.
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
