Meaning & use
simple leaf
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Meaning
nouncountablebiology
A leaf whose blade is a single undivided piece, rather than being split into separate leaflets on one stalk.
Grammar: Countable: a simple leaf, simple leaves.
Patterns
- a plant with simple leaves
An apple tree has a simple leaf, while a rose bush has compound leaves.
Botany students learn to tell a simple leaf from a compound one by looking for the bud at the base of the stalk.
The maple has a lobed simple leaf with a single blade.
Word forms
| plural | simple leaves |
|---|
Common combinations
- simple leaf arrangement
- The simple leaf arrangement of this shrub is opposite.
- simple leaf shape
- Draw the simple leaf shape you see on the sample.
- trees with simple leaves
- Oaks and maples are trees with simple leaves.
- simple leaf versus compound leaf
- The key test is simple leaf versus compound leaf.
- lobed simple leaf
- The oak has a lobed simple leaf.
Synonyms and how they differ
- entire leaf
- Entire leaf refers to a smooth, unnotched edge, which is a different feature from the simple structure.
- undivided leaf
- Undivided leaf is a plain-English description of the same idea, while simple leaf is the scientific term.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: simple leaf or simple leaf vs. leaflet?
simple leaf vs simple leaf vs. leaflet
A simple leaf is a whole leaf, while a leaflet is one segment of a compound leaf.
Practice
A leaf with one undivided blade on a stalk is called a ___.
Choose one answer.
A simple leaf has a single blade. A compound leaf is divided into leaflets, a needle is a narrow conifer leaf, and a frond belongs to ferns and palms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “simple leaf”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.