SOME LESSONS IN BOTANY 
57 
stalk just as that is joined to the stem or twig. These small 
parts of the compound leaf are called leaflets. 
and careless observers 
often mistake a com- 
pound leaf for a sprig 
on which each leaflet is 
taken for a complete leaf 
and the midrib or leaf- 
stalk for part of the 
stem. In case of trees 
and shrubs the true 
nature of the compound 
leaf becomes very plain 
in the autumn when the 
leaf-stalk falls off with 
the rest of the leaf. If 
it were part of the stem 
it would not fall. 
Leaves with or with- 
out a Stalk. — The larger 
number of leaves con- 
sists of a broad part 
Beginners 
a 
LEAVES OF Various TYPES 
a. Plum leaf, consisting of the blade (the 
broad, flat part) and the petiole or stalk. 
b. Annual sow thistle, has no petiole, but 
the blade comes right up against the stem. 
c. Compound leaf of red clover, with three 
leaflets and two small blades, “stipules,” at 
the base of the petiole. 
d. Compound leaf of garden pea, with four 
leaflets, large stipules, and tendrils. 
(the blade) and a little stalk (petiole), which joins the blade to the 
stem of the plant. 
But in others there is no such stalk, and 
the blade comes right up cea the stem to which it is fastened. 
Marcins oF LEAVES 
This also applies to the parts of 
compound leaves ; the leaflets may 
be stalked or the little blades may 
come up close to the main leaf- 
stalk. 
Opposite and Alternate.— In 
some plants, as the lilac and honey- 
