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

The stalk of a leaflet in a compound leaf.

From Handbook of the Trees of New England by Dame, Lorin Low

A compound leaf terminating in a pair of leaflets.

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

One of these is the cut-leaf black walnut which has the ordinary compound leaf but whose individual leaflets are so scalloped and serrated that they resemble a male fern.

From Growing Nuts in the North A Personal Story of the Author's Experience of 33 Years with Nut Culture in Minnesota and Wisconsin by Weschcke, Carl