All leaves develop from tiny buds, which consist of only a few cells. The buds always look the same, no matter what kind of leaf they eventually form. Not only that, but very similar leaf shapes can ...

Leaf size and venation show remarkable diversity across dicotyledons, and are key determinants of plant adaptation in ecosystems past and present. Here we present global scaling relationships of ...

Francesco Vuolo and colleagues from the laboratory of Max Planck Director Miltos Tsiantis are investigating the mechanisms underlying the dazzling variation in leaf shapes one can see in nature.

Variation in the size and shape (physiognomy) of leaves has long been correlated to climate, and paleobotanists have used these correlations to reconstruct paleoclimate. Most studies focus on ...

Subtle changes in genetics can have major effects on how leaves grow into a wide variety of shapes. John Innes Centre Around the globe, plants have evolved to use their leaves for many purposes: broad ...

Most leaves are green due to the pigment chlorophyll, but other colours, such as oranges, reds and blues, may also be present due to less efficient photosynthetic pigments like anthocyanins, carotenes ...

Researchers know that the variation in leaf shapes can mean big differences in a farmer's bottom line. Now, a new discovery gives plant breeders key genetic information they need to develop crop ...