Are all leaves alike? Is the leaf of a banana tree the same as the leaf of a wheat plant? In some ways they are similar - leaves all have edges and veins and are usually green. Leaves can also be quite different as you can see in the drawings following.
Five leaves from different plants
You can see that leaves can have a variety of shapes.
Here are some common vein patterns in leaves.
Leaf veins
The veins in the gum leaf are most like the network pattern.
What about the shapes of leaf edges?
Leaf edges
Gum leaf
This gum leaf has network veins and an entire edge. This description names the type of veins and the edge of the leaf. But what does this description mean?
The edges of the gum leaf are most like the entire leaf edge. This is why the gum leaf is described as having network veins and an entire edge.
Use the diagrams of 'Leaf veins' and 'Leaf edges' to help you identify the patterns of veins and the shapes of the leaf edges in the next activity.
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