XVlll 
INTRODUCTION. 
60. Frequently the blade is raised upon an unexpanded part, the leaf¬ 
stalk, foot-stalk, or petiole. This is sometimes provided with an 
appendage (stipule, 94) on each side at the base, either adherent to it (as 
in the Strawberry, p. 123), or separate (as in the Vetch, dec., p. 93). A 
leaf with all its parts, therefore, consists of the blade, the petiole, and a 
pair of stipules. 
61. A leaf is simple when the blade is of one piece, however irregular, 
cut, or cleft; and compound, when it consists of two or more separate 
pieces, or smaller blades, called Leaflets. 
62. A leaf, leaflet, or any flat organ, is called entire when the margin is 
continuous and even, without notches, clefts, or divisions. 
63. If furnished with notches of no great depth, as compared with the 
size of the blade, it is in general terms said to be toothed. The principal 
special terms for distinguishing the varieties of toothing are the following: 
viz. dentate, or toothed proper, when the teeth are sharp and spreading $ 
crenate, or crenelled, when they are broad and rounded ; and serrate (saw¬ 
toothed), when more or less sharp and inclined forwards. The diminutives 
of these and similar appellations denote that the teeth are small in propor¬ 
tion or minute ; as, denticulate, minutely toothed ; crenulate , minutely cre¬ 
nate ; and serrulate, serrate with minute teeth. The number of the teeth, 
as well as the kind, may be denoted by combining the proper numeral with 
the term, as 3 -toothed, 5-toothed, 5-crenate, &c. But if the teeth are them¬ 
selves toothed, or of two sorts, we say doubly toothed, doubly crenate, &c. 
64. A slightly sinuous or waved margin is said to be repand; a strongly 
sinuous margin, so as to make rounded and shallow lobes, sinuate. If the 
teeth are still deeper, irregular, and sharp, or with acute incisions, the leaf 
is said to be incised or cut. 
65. When the blade is more deeply and definitely cut, the portions are 
called lobes, segments , or divisions; and the leaf is said to be lobed, as a 
general term, especially when the sinuses are rounded or blunt; or cleft, 
when cut to the middle or thereabouts as if by a sharp incision ; or parted, 
when the sinuses reach almost to the base or axis; or divided , when they 
reach quite to the base or axis, so as to divide the blade into separate 
pieces. The last-named case brings us, by successive gradations, to a 
compound leaf (61). The number of lobes. <fcc., is expressed by prefixing 
the proper numeral, as 2 -lobed, %-cleft , 3- parted, 3 -divided, &c. Other par¬ 
ticular terms of incision, &c., only require to be explained in the Glossary. 
66 . So, likewise, of the terms which denote the shape, or general outline 
of the leaf, or of any other expanded body, which are very numerous and 
diversified, and furnish the readiest characters of species. The following 
are the more common and important: viz. linear, for a narrow leaf, with 
the two margins parallel : lanceolate or lance-shaped, for a narrow leaf ta¬ 
pering to each end, but especially towards the apex : oblong, when the 
breadth bears a greater proportion to the length : oval, broader still, but 
longer than broad, with the two ends equilly rounded and of equal width: 
elliptical, like the last or narrower, especially with the ends acute : ovate 
or egg-shaped, viz. shaped like the section of a hen’s egg, with the broader 
end at the base : obovate, the same inverted, or with the broader end at the 
apex : cuneiform or wedge-shaped, like the last, but the converging margins 
straight towards the base : orbicular, when the outline is circular or nearly 
so : round or rotund, approaching to circular. 
67. Terms which relate both to outline and base or apex are, principally, 
cordate or heart-shaped, when the two sides at the base project backwards 
in a rounded form, like a heart as commonly delineated : reniform or kid¬ 
ney-shaped, like the last, but with the rounded outline broader than long: 
auricled or auriculate (eared), which is applied to any form of a leaf with a 
pair of small lobes at the base : sagittate or arrow-shaped, when narrow 
with a pair of narrow lobes at the base, not much divergent, like the figure 
