Table 1 The description and demonstration of leaf types of woody plants.
Type | Description | Demonstration |
|---|---|---|
Compound leaves with small leaflets | This leaf type included pinnately compound leaves with rows of small leaflets around a central stalk (petiole). Leaves exhibit a feathery or fernlike shape and some have thorns at the base. Examples include mostly Acacias, Dichrostachys, Prosopis, Leucaena species, etc |
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Needle-like leaves | These are narrow and long leaves with sharp, rigid tips. They are harder with a thick wax layer refered to as cuticle. The species characterized by these leaves produce cones. The examples include conifers (Picea, Tsuga, Pinus, Taxodium species, etc.) |
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Narrow leaves | These included leaves with long and narrow leaflets which are softer than those of conifers. The examples include Olea, Eucalyptus, Ormosia, Acacia melanoxylon, Acacia pycnantha, etc. The term “narrow” was used in relation to broad leaves. So, these leaves were narrower than broad leaves |
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Broad leaves | Leaves are wider and have a visible network of veins. These leaves included lobed leaves, toothed and untoothed leaves. Examples include Quercus, Acer, Tilia, Prunus, Populus, Fagus, Celtis species, etc |
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