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Radboud universityFaculty of ScienceBiologyHOMEWEB MODULESThe  leaf >     Dicots

    Dicots

Leaves of dicotyledonous plants show a great variation in shape (see some examples in the drawing below). The venation show a hand-shaped or feather-like pattern, while stomata are randomly spread over the leaf surface, as well as the epidermal cells with the shape of "puzzle-pieces". See zoomable examples of these features in ivy, petunia and lilac. How leaves are formed in dicots is explained elsewhere.
 
Leaf margin in dicots
Leaf margin
1. Smooth (entire). 2. Serrate. 3. Double serrate. 4.Saw-shaped. 5. Toothed. 6.Crenate. 7. Lobed. 8. Parted. 9. Pinnately (like a feather) incised. 10. Palmately (like a hand) incised. 11.Palmately (like a hand) lobbed.

 

Ivy
Upper side leaf
Close-up showing venation
Stomata on an ivy leaf section
Upper side leaf
Close-up showing venation
Stomata on an ivy leaf section

 

Petunia: Morphology and epidermal strips
Young petunia plant
Upper side leaf
Lower side leaf
Young petunia plant
Upper side leaf
Lower side leaf
Close-up of a petunia leaf
Epidermis of a petunia leaf
Epidermis strip of a petunia leaf
Close-up of a petunia leaf
Epidermis of a petunia leaf
Epidermis strip of a petunia leaf

 

Lilac: Morphology (upper views) and sections (lower views)
Lilac branch
Upper side leaf
Lower side leaf
Lilac branch
Upper side leaf
Lower side leaf
Cross-section, overview
Cross-section, close-up
stoma and trichome
Cross-section, overview
Detail of a cross-section of a lilac leaf
Section through the leaf surface with stoma and trichome


last modified: 17 Oct 2011