78 



FIRST STUDIES IN PLANT LIFE 



(5) Make a list of the leaves of plants common in your district, 

 BiCcording to the following scheme : — 



LEAVES. 



JTote.— Additional columns can be used to indicate whether the leaf is 

 stalked or non-stalked, smooth or hairy, with stipules or without, alternate 

 or opposite. 



XIIL— THE LEAVES.— Part V. 



Reasons for Leaf-shapes. 



1. ^\e have looked at the feather-like leaf and at 

 the palm-like leaf; and now we have to look at 

 another kind. 



2. The grass-leaf type. If you look at a grass- 

 leaf, you will find that the ribs do not run either on 

 the feather-plan or the palm-plan, but run from the 

 bottom to the top of the leaf either in a straight line 

 or in a curved line (fig. 54). Even the small veins 

 run in this way, so that there is no network of veins. 

 This is the plan for all the grasses. You can see this 

 clearly if you hold up to the light a leaf of the 



