What is a leaf stem?
Image – Wikimedia Commons / David J. Stang
When you want to learn more about plants, it is engaging to know the names of all their parts. This can be useful, for example, if you suspect that you have a disease and want to do everything to recover, because you have to take into account that depending on the type of product you are using and which part is affected, you will have to apply it in one way or another. Knowing this, It is critical to know that the leaf stem is usually one of the most sensitive parts.
But what is a leaf stalk? There are many plants that do not have one, others instead develop a very long and robust stalk. In some cases, if they do have one, it will not be green, as you would expect, but will be a different color, such as for example in many varieties of Colocasia.
What is the technical name for a leaf stalk?
His name is pedicel. This is the part that connects the leaf to the stem of the plant. it is a herbaceous plantso it is very feeble. There is a reason for this and it is quite straightforward. To make it easier to understand, I will give an example of a deciduous tree.
As the temperature starts to drop, it stops providing them with food, so we can see that the color of their leaves changes: in many cases, as happens with maples or ash trees, the green gives way to various shades of red, yellow and/or orange; then they turn brown (at which point they are completely droughty, lifeless) and… what happens? Well, what the slightest gust of wind makes them fall easily, as the leaf petiole is fine and has not received food for a long time.
And not only that, but when the leaves fall to the ground, they do so very close to the trunk. This is very engaging because When a tree decomposes, it will be able to regain some of the nutrients it used to produce them.. For this reason, I think that removing these dead leaves is not the most appropriate, because we are talking about something that will ultimately be fertilizer for the plant. But let’s not get off topic.
There are some types of plants that do not have woody or, in many cases, semi-woody stems: herbs (including megaphores such as palms and banana trees) and shrubs (or subshrubs) such as lavender belong to this group. Do they have petioles? It depends on the species. For example, lavender does not haveInstead, leaves grow directly from the main stem. But many others do: palms, banana trees, ensetas, alocasias and colocasias, and a vast number of plants have them.
When a leaf has a stem connecting it to another stem, such as a branch or trunk, it is said to be a petiole leaf; if not, it is said to be sessile, because this can give the impression that the leaf is “sitting” on the stem.
What types of leaf stems are there?
Really, more than the different types of stems, we need to look at what the leaf that grows from them looks like. For example, there are four types:
Screenshot.
However, as you can see, the petiole serves the function of holding the leaf to the rest of the plant, at least until the leaf reaches the end of its life.
What are his duties?
Image – Flickr/Jungel Rebel
I commented on one that is the most basic, but in fact, without a petiole many plants would not be able to “hold” their leaves. That is why I will delve into this topic, because the functions of this stem may surprise us:
Attach the leaf to the stem
It all starts here. The leaf petiole keeps the leaf in contact with the rest of the plant so that it can live and fulfill its normal functions.. But be careful, for this to really happen, you will need the support of a well root system, because after all, they are responsible for seeking out water and nutrients and passing them on to the rest of the plant once they have found them.
keeps the leaf alive
Even if it’s transient, but as long as they live, the plant will provide them with water and food (nutrients). They will reach the leaves through the conducting vessels (they would be something like the veins of our body) in the form of raw sap. When they reach their destination, they will be transformed into food and returned to the roots in the form of processed sap. And all thanks, I emphasize, to the leaf petiole.
Related article:
What is raw juice and processed juice
It allows plants to have vast leaves
This point is closely related to the first thing we talked about. But although it may seem logical, we do not always think about it. Many of the plants we have in our homes or gardens are tropical or subtropical. They live in sultry regions where temperatures remain high and where, in addition, it rains often, so they can afford huge leaves. And this is because the bigger they are, the more airy they can capture and the more food they can produce. But this This would only be possible if their stems were not only herbaceous, but also robust.
Our beloved elephant ear (Alocasia sulphura) is a clear example of this. But there are many, many more: among others, Colocasia, Monstera is deliciousor palm trees, plants whose leaves often reach a length of more than three meters.
For this reason, although we often forget about it, we must ensure that the leaf stalk is well maintained and well, because without it the plants could lose their leaves.