APPW key feature pages

Leaf presence

Leaves are of course extremely variable in appearance.

In this tool, the term "leaf" is used broadly and includes fern fronds, quillwort megaphylls, and moss microphylls. The duckweed plant body is also considered a leaf here, for identification purposes. The liverworts, which have a plant body undifferentiated into stems, leaves, and roots (a thallusthallus:
(n) a photosynthetic plant body that is not (or apparently not) differentiated into stems, roots, and leaves
), are considered "leaves absent." Some algaealgae:
(n) (sing. alga) photosynthetic, eukaryotic, unicellular or complex multicellular organisms, mainly aquatic, lacking true stems, roots, leaves, conducting vessels, and complex sex organs
appear to have leaf-like organs but algaealgae:
(n) (sing. alga) photosynthetic, eukaryotic, unicellular or complex multicellular organisms, mainly aquatic, lacking true stems, roots, leaves, conducting vessels, and complex sex organs
are not plants and do not have true leaves. See the fact sheets of individual taxa for more detailed descriptions of these taxa.

leaves present
leaves absent
APPW key feature pages