Meaning & use
lobed leaf
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Meanings
nouncountablebiologytechnical
A leaf whose edge has deep, rounded or pointed indentations that divide it into sections called lobes.
Grammar: Plural is lobed leaves, not lobed leafs.
Patterns
- a lobed leaf with N lobes
An oak has a lobed leaf with rounded edges.
The maple's lobed leaf has five pointed sections.
Students sketched a lobed leaf for their botany notes.
nouncountabletechnical
A leaf type used in plant identification, set apart from leaves with smooth edges or fully separate leaflets.
Grammar: Contrast with a simple leaf, which has an uncut edge, and a compound leaf, which has separate leaflets.
Patterns
- a lobed leaf versus a compound leaf
Field guides describe the sycamore as having a lobed leaf.
A lobed leaf is different from a compound leaf with leaflets.
The key asks whether the plant has a lobed leaf or a smooth one.
Word forms
| plural | lobed leaves |
|---|
Common combinations
- deeply lobed leaf
- The oak had a deeply lobed leaf.
- lobed leaf margin
- A lobed leaf margin is a clue when naming a tree.
- palmately lobed leaf
- The maple has a palmately lobed leaf.
- pinnately lobed leaf
- The dandelion has a pinnately lobed leaf.
- lobed leaves
- The vine had broad, lobed leaves.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cut leaf
- Cut leaf is a looser term for a leaf with deep notches, while lobed leaf is the usual botanical description.
- palmate leaf
- Palmate describes lobes spreading from one point like a hand, so it names one arrangement of lobed leaf.
- toothed leaf
- A toothed leaf has small sharp teeth along the edge, which is shallower than the deep rounded cuts of a lobed leaf.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: lobed leaf or compound leaf?
lobed leaf vs compound leaf
A compound leaf is divided into separate leaflets, while a lobed leaf is one blade with indented edges.
Practice
A leaf with a deeply notched edge forming rounded sections is best described as which type?
Choose one answer.
Rounded sections cut into the edge are lobes, so it is a lobed leaf. An entire leaf has a smooth edge, and a needle leaf is thin and narrow.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lobed leaf”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.