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In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat (laminar) and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast (chlorenchyma tissue, a type of parenchyma) to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues. Leaves are also the sites in most plants where transpiration and guttation take place. Leaves can store food and water, and are modified in some plants for other purposes. The comparable structures of ferns are correctly referred to as fronds. Furthermore, leaves are prominent in the human diet as leaf vegetables.
 


structurally

structurally complete leaf of an angiosperm consists of a petiole (leaf stem), a lamina (leaf blade), and stipules (small processes located to either side of the base of the petiole). The petiole attaches to the stem at a point called the "leaf axil". Not every species produces leaves with all of the aforementioned structural components. In some species, paired stipules are not obvious or are absent altogether. A petiole may be absent, or the blade may not be laminar (flattened). The tremendous variety shown in leaf structure (anatomy) from species to species is presented in detail below under Leaf morphology. After a period of time (i.e. seasonally, during the autumn), deciduous trees shed their leaves. These leaves then decompose into the soil.

A leaf is considered a plant organ and typically consists of the following tissues:

  1. An epidermis that covers the upper and lower surfaces
  2. An interior chlorenchyma called the mesophyll
  3. An arrangement of veins (the vascular tissue).

 

 

  
 

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