Leaf

• A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant and is the

principal lateral appendage of the stem. The leaves
and stem together form theshoot.Leaves are
collectively referred to as foliage, as in "autumn
foliage.
• Although leaves can be seen in many different
shapes, sizes and textures, typically a leaf is a thin, 
dorsiventrally flattened organ, borne above ground
and specialized for photosynthesis. In most leaves,
the primary photosynthetic tissue.
Simple Leaf
• the palisade mesophyll, is located on the upper side
of the blade or lamina of the leaf but in some
species, including the mature foliage of Eucalyptus
, palisade mesophyll is present on both sides and
the leaves are said to be isobilateral. Most leaves
have distinctive upper surface (adaxial) and lower
surface (abaxial) that differ in colour, hairiness, the
number of stomata (pores that intake and output
gases), epicuticular wax amount and structure and
other features.
• Leaves may vary because of inheritance, or
because of the environment in which they live.
for example, the leaves of a particular species
may be large if the environment in which the
plant grows richly supplies the things needed
by the plant. ... 1) Collect different kinds
of leaves and obtain a ruler.
• Broad, flat leaves with complex venation are
known as megaphylls and the species that
bear them, the majority, as broad-leaved or
megaphyllous plants. In others, such as the 
clubmosses, with different evolutionary
origins, the leaves are simple, with only a
single vein and are known as microphylls
 Diagram of a simple leaf.Apex

• Midvein (Primary vein)

• Secondary vein.
• Lamina.
• Leaf margin
• Petiole
• Bud
• Stem
• Some leaves, such as bulb scales are not
above ground, and in many aquatic species
the leaves are submerged in water. Succulent
plants often have thick juicy leaves, but some
leaves are without major photosynthetic
function and may be dead at maturity, as in
somecataphylls and spines. Furthermore,
several kinds of leaf-like structures found in
vascular plants are not totally homologous
with them. 
• Examples include flattened plant stems
called phylloclades and cladodes, and
flattened leaf stems called phyllodes (winged
leaf stalk). which differ from leaves both in
their structure and origin. Many structures of
non-vascular plants, such as
the phyllids of mosses and liverworts
Phyllids
phylloclades 
phyllodes
 Types of leaves
Simple leaf: simple leaf blade is undivided
 Compound leaf
• The blade of a compound leaf is divided into
several leaflets.
 Basic leaf types

• Ferns have fronds.

• Conifer leaves are typically needle- or awl-shaped
or scale-like.
• Angiosperm (flowering plant) leaves: the
standard form includes stipules, a petiole, and a
lamina.
• Lycophytes have microphyll leaves.
• Sheath leaves (type found in most grasses and
many other monocots)
 ORIGIN OF LEAF
• Leaves are the most important organs of
plants and carry out very vital physiological
activities such as photosynthesis, respiration,
transpirationand synthesis and supply of signal
compounds, including growth regulators. 
• Currently, researchers indicate that leaves have evolved
several times in different lineages. The simpliest difference
is between microphylls or lycophylls of the lycophyteS, and
the megaphylls of the ferns. There is debate whether fern
leaves are homologous to the leaves of horsetails.
Also, whether fern leaves are homologous to those found
in the archaeopteridalean progymnosperms and  the seed
plants. "Leaves" may have evolved separately in the club-
mosses, ferns, horsetails, and the lignophytes, not to
mention the gametophytic leaves of mosses and leafy
liverworts.
• It is possible that "leaves" have evolved at
least 6 times in evolutionary history (leafy 
liverworts, mosses, club-mosses, horsetails/
sphenophyllophytes, derived ferns, and 
lignophytes).
• Lycophytes: Baragwanathia is a Late Silurian club-
moss that had microphylls 
• Horsetails: Pseudobornia is a Devonian representative
that produce highly-dissected leaves only on high-
order branches
• Ferns: Shougangia and Ellesmeris are Late Devonian
fern-like euphyllophytes that evolved the earliest
known leaves
• Progymnosperms: Archaeopteris, the first true tree
(lignophyte), had frond-like leaves
 Enation hypothesis

• This hypothesis proposes the steps for the

origin of microphyllous leaves from a leafless
ancestor. Some early land plants had small,
leaf-like outgrowths that lacked vascular cells;
such outgrowths are called enations
proposedby Bower 1908.
• his concept pertains mainly to club-moss or 
lycophyte evolution. Current thinking
proposes that club-mosses evolved leaves
separately from other plants, such as ferns
and seed plants.  Botanists call lycophyte
leaves "microphylls", due to their small size. A
more definitive feature is that they exhibit a
single vascular trace (or vein) that does not
branch. 
 Sterilization hypothesis

• Proposed by Kenrick and Crane, which

proposes that the first leaves that evolve
(i.e. lycophytes) came from sporangia that
were sterilized and repurposed for
photosynthesis.
 Telome hypothesis

• The megaphyllous leaf was hypothesized to be created through

some of the "telomic" processes, hypothesized by 
Walter Zimmermann:
• Over-topping: Plants evolve from an isotomous branching habit to
pseudomonopodial growth, creating lateral axes that are used for
photosynthesis and reproduction.
• Planation: The three-dimensional branching systems evolve to
grow in a two-dimensional or flattened plane. The lateral
bracnhes, mentioned above, would growth in an orientation to
intercept as much light as possible.
• Webbing: Tissues form in-between the axes of these lateral
branches to create a laminate leaf
External Morphology
 External Morophlogy
• Leaf Blade: Wide flattened area of leaf for
concentrating sunlight on photosynthetic cells.
• Petiole: Short stem that attaches leaf to main
stem or branch.
• Veins: Vascular bundles within leaf for transort.
• Node: Growth region of stem where leaves or
new branches arise.
• Axillary bud: Baby leaf or stem (next years
growth).
External Morphology
External Morphology
 Internal structure of Leaf
• a) Cuticle: Waxy layer water proofing upper leaves.
• b) Upper epidermis: Upper layer of cells. No
chloroplasts. Protection.
• c) Palisade Mesophyll: Tightly packed upper layer
of chloroplast containing cells.
• d) Spongy Mesophyll: Lower layer of chloroplast
containing cells. Air spaces around them.
• e) Lower Epidermis: Lower external layer of cells in
leaf.
 Internal structure of Leaf
• f) Vascular Bundle: Bundle of many vessels (xylem
and phloem) for transport.
• g) Xylem: Living vascular system carrying water &
minerals throughout plant.
• h) Phloem: Living vascular system carrying dissolved
sugars and organic compounds throughout plant.
• i) Guard Cells: 2 cells surrounding stomata that
control rate of gas & water exchange.
• j) Stomata: Opening between guard cells for gas &
water exchange. (See Diagram below.)
Internal structure of Leaf
Internal Morphology
Dicot leaf
Internal Organization of Leaf - Class 10 Biology - Science - Digital Teacher[via torchbrowser.com].mp4
 Practical
• Leaf: Isobilateral /dorsiventral
• Stomata dis: Amphistomatic/Hypostomatic
• Mesophyll: Only spongy mesophyll/ both
• Bundle Sheath: made of parenchyma
+Sclerenchyma/ Parenchyma + collenchyma
 Development of different tissues
• Within multicellular organisms, tissues are organized
communities of cells that work together to carry out a
specific function. The exact role of a tissue in an organism
depends on what types of cells it contains.
• Without cell division, long-term tissue survival would be
impossible. Inside every tissue, cells are constantly
replenishing themselves through the process of division,
although the rate of turnover may vary widely between
different cell types in the same tissue.  cells it contains.
e.g Meristemtic tissue, Supporting tissue, Vascular tissue
etc
• Like animals, plants are multicellular
eukaryotes whose bodies are composed of
organs, tissues, and cells with highly
specialized functions. The relationships
between plant organs, tissues, and cell types
are illustrated below.
 Plant Cell Types

• ll plants have primary cell walls, which are

flexible and can expand as the cell grows and
elongates. Some plants also have
a secondary cell wall, typically composed
of lignin(the substance that is the primary
component of wood). Secondary cell walls are
inflexible and play an important role in plant
structural support.
• Each plant tissue type is comprised of
specialize cell types which carry out vastly
different functions:
• Vascular tissue
– Tracheids
– Vessel elements
– Sieve tube cells
– Companion cells
• Dermal tissue
– Epidermal cells
– Stomata
– Trichomes
• Ground tissue
– Parenchyma
– Collenchyma
– Sclerenchyma
• The stems and leaves together make up
the shoot system. Each organ (roots, stems,
and leaves) include all three tissue types
(ground, vascular, and dermal). Different cell
types comprise each tissue type, and the
structure of each cell type influences the
function of the tissue it comprises. We will go
through each of the organs, tissues, and cell
types in greater detail below.
 The Root System

• The roots of seed plants have three major

functions: anchoring the plant to the
soil,absorbing water and minerals and
transporting them upwards, and storing the
products of photosynthesis. Some roots are
modified to absorb moisture and exchange
gases. Most roots are underground. Some
plants, however, also haveadventitious roots,
which emerge above the ground from the shoot.
• Tap root systems: Arise from radicle
• Fibrous root systems: are located closer to the
surface
• Bulbous roots: store starch
• Epiphytic roots 
 The shoot system: stems and leaves

• Stems are a part of the shoot system of a

plant. Their main function is to provide
support to the plant, holding leaves, flowers
and buds. Of course they also connect the
roots to the leaves, transporting absorbed
water and minerals from the roots to the rest
of the plant, and transporting sugars from the
leaves (the site of photosynthesis) to desired
locations throughout the plant. 
• Herbaceous stems are soft and typically green
• Woody stems are hard and wooded
• Unbranched stems have a single stem
• Branched stems have divisions and side stems
• Plant stems, whether above or below ground,
are characterized by the presence of nodes
and internodes, petiole,  axillary bud 
 Plant tissues

• Plant tissue systems fall into one of two general

types: meristematic tissue, andpermanent.
• Meristems produce cells that quickly differentiate,
or specialize, and become permanenttissue. Such
cells take on specific roles and lose their ability to
divide further. They differentiate into three main
tissue types: dermal, vascular, and ground tissue.
Each plant organ (roots, stems, leaves) contains all
three tissue types:
 Dermal tissue
• Dermal tissue covers and protects the plant, and
controls gas exchange and water absorption (in
roots). Dermal tissue of the stems and leaves is
covered by a waxy cuticle that prevents evaporative
water loss. Stomata are specialized pores that allow
gas exchange through holes in the cuticle.
 Trichomes, or small hairlike or spikey
outgrowths of epidermal tissue, may be present on
the stem and leaves, and aid in defense against
herbivores.
 Ground tissue
• Ground tissue carries out different functions based on
the cell type and location in the plant, and includes
parenchyma , collenchyma.
• Vascular tissue transports water, minerals, and sugars
to different parts of the plant e.g  xylem and phloem.
Xylem tissue transports water and nutrients from the
roots to different parts of the plant, and also plays a
role in structural support in the stem. Phloem tissue
transports organic compounds from the site of
photosynthesis to other parts of the plant.