leaf shape
Botanical margin pattern
Leaf shape refers to the overall outline or form of a leaf blade, used in botany and plant identification to classify and describe foliage.
Common leaf shapes include oval, lanceolate, heart-shaped, and palmate, each with specific terminology: The field guide organized plants by leaf shape.
Gardeners and naturalists use leaf shape alongside features like margin and venation to distinguish species.
- cordateHeart-shaped, in botany
- lobedHaving rounded projections
- obovateEgg-shaped but reversed
- lanceolateNarrow and tapering
- ellipticalOval-shaped or indirect
round · broad · serrated · spatulate · deltoid · scalloped · fan · morphology · toothed · jagged · acuminate · narrow · heart-shaped · palmate · heart · needle · frond · margin
- natural shapesspiral, helix, sphere, oval, crescent
- tapered shapestorpedo, cigar, spindle, bullet, missile
- botanybotany, plants, plant biology, plant, plant anatomy
- plant traitsthorny, spiny, evergreen, deciduous, flowering
- Ovalsoval, ellipse, ovoid, ovate, oblong
- succulent traitsthick leaves, water storage, drought tolerance, farina, waxy coating