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

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

Leaflet—a single member of the compound leaf borne by all rose plants.

From Making a Rose Garden by Saylor, Henry H. (Henry Hodgman)

Many of the larger leaflets measured 5 × 9 inches, shape, oblong ovate, edges of leaf, serrate, total width of compound leaf, 17 inches.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Twenty-Fourth Annual Meeting Downington, Pennsylvania, September 11 and 12, 1933 by Northern Nut Growers Association

New growth of the year green, and resembling a once-pinnate compound leaf and usually dropping off in the autumn like one.

From Trees of the Northern United States Their Study, Description and Determination by Apgar, A. C. (Austin Craig)