Standard 11
Morphology of flowering plants
Morphology of flowering plants| Leaf | NCERT short note| Best biology short note | standard 11
Note 3
The Leaf | Types of leaf|Venatian | Modification of leaves
Characters of leaf
The leaf is a lateral, generally flattened structure borne on the stem.
develops at the node
bears a bud in its axil.
The axillary bud later develops into a branch.
Origin of leaves
Leaves originate from shoot apical meristems and are arranged in an acropetal order
Acropetal- new leaf on top , old leaves at base
They are the most important vegetative organs for photosynthesis.
Parts of leaf
A typical leaf consists of three main parts: leaf base, petiole and lamina
1. Leaf base
The leaf is attached to the stem by the leaf base
At base, it may bear two lateral small leaf like structures called stipules.
In monocotyledons, the leaf base expands into a sheath covering the stem partially or wholly.
In some leguminous plants the leaf base may become swollen, which is called the pulvinus.
2. Petiole
It help hold the blade to light.
Long thin flexible petioles allow leaf blades to flutter in wind, thereby cooling the leaf and bringing fresh air to leaf surface.
3. Leaf blade / Lamina
The lamina or the leaf blade is the green expanded part of the leaf with veins and veinlets.
There is, usually, a middle prominent vein, which is known as the midrib.
Veins provide rigidity to the leaf blade
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Parts of leaf |
They act as channels of transport for water, minerals and food materials.
The shape, margin, apex, surface and extent of incision of lamina varies in different leaves.
Venation
The arrangement of veins and the veinlets in the lamina of leaf is termed as venation.
Reticulate Venatian: the veinlets form a network
Leaves of dicotyledonous plants generally possess reticulate venation
Parallel Venatian: the veins run parallel to each other within a lamina.
Parallel venation is the characteristic of most monocotyledons.
Types of Leaves
A leaf is said to be simple, when its lamina is entire or when incised, the incisions do not touch the midrib.
When the incisions of the lamina reach up to the midrib breaking it into a number of leaflets, the leaf is called compound.
A bud is present in the axil of petiole in both simple and compound leaves, but not in the axil of leaflets of the compound leaf.
The compound leaves can be of two types
In a pinnately compound leaf a number of leaflets are present on a common axis, the rachis, which represents the midrib of the leaf
Example : Neem
In palmately compound leaves, the leaflets are attached at a common point, i.e.,bat the tip of petiole
Example: silk cotton.
Phyllotaxy
Phyllotaxy is the pattern of arrangement of leaves on the stem or branch.
This is usually of three types – alternate, opposite and whorled.
In alternate type of phyllotaxy, a single leaf arises at each node in alternate manner
Example : china rose, mustard and sun flower plants.
In opposite type, a pair of leaves arise at each node and lie opposite to each other
Example : Calotropis and guava plants.
If more than two leaves rise at a node and form a whorl, it is called whorled
Example: Alstonia.
Modifications of Leaves
Leaves are often modified to perform functions other than photosynthesis.
Support: They are converted into tendrils for climbing as in peas
Protection: They are converted into spines as in cacti
Food storage: The fleshy leaves of onion and garlic store food.
In some plants such as Australian acacia, the leaves are small and short-lived. The petioles in these plants expand, become green and synthesise food.
Predation: Leaves of certain insectivorous plants such as pitcher plant, venus-fly trap are also modified leaves.
Go to the link below for the explanation video!!
https://youtu.be/lepyD_9Z8C0?si=YeDbSnqnbkRUSm-p
https://youtu.be/hFaTmiHN5rM?si=lU36JdOxulzPkTxM
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Urvi Bhanushali
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