Have you ever collected leaves as a hobby? Even if you have not, just observing plants would make you wonder at the variety of leaves of various plants. Leaves range from the miniscule to the massive, the thinnest to the thickest and the simplest to the strangest. They all do one fundamental job for the plant: manufacture food. However, there are some structural differences among the different kinds of leaves.
An important distinction among leaves is in the way their veins, which carry water and nutrients to the leaves are deployed, and distribute the food manufactured by them. In some leaves, the veins form a network of branches in some leaves. However, in some others, they angle out from a prominent central vein originate from the base of the leaf and are evenly arranged.
There is also a contrast in the way leaves are attached to twigs. Some leaves grow opposite one another or in an alternating pattern. Some trees have compound leaves. The drumstick plant, for example, has small leaflets attached to a central stem, which in turn, is joined to the twig. Leaflets extend to the sides in some trees. However, in some others, the leaves spread out like a fan.
Leaves appear in an incredible variety of sizes and shapes. However, they are all united by a basic function: the production of food for the plant.
Picture Credit : Google