compound leaf

American  

noun

1. a leaf composed of a number of leaflets on a common stalk, arranged either palmately, as the fingers of a hand, or pinnately, as the leaflets of a fern; the leaflets themselves may be compound.

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compound leaf British  

noun

1. a leaf consisting of two or more leaflets borne on the same leafstalk

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compound leaf Scientific  

1. A leaf that is composed of two or more leaflets on a common stalk. Clover, roses, sumac, and walnut trees have compound leaves.

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Etymology

Origin of compound leaf

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

compound leaf

In a compound leaf, the leaf blade is completely divided, forming leaflets, as in the locust tree.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

How does a compound leaf give a selective advantage to avoid herbivory?

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

With several organs or structures attached at the sides of an axis or stalk; applied chiefly to the arrangement of the principal veins in a leaf and of leaflets in a compound leaf.

From The Plants of Michigan Simple Keys for the Identification of the Native Seed Plants of the State by Henry Allan Gleason

Either sort of compound leaf may have any number of leaflets; yet palmate leaves cannot well have a great many, since they are all crowded together on the end of the main leaf-stalk.

From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Asa Gray

One of the most conspicuous among the symbols intended to represent the Trinity, to be seen in Christian churches, is the compound leaf of the trefoil.

From Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions Being a Comparison of the Old and New Testament Myths and Miracles with those of the Heathen Nations of Antiquity Considering also their Origin and Meaning by T. W. Doane