Leaves make food for the tree, and this tells us much about their shapes. For example, the narrow needles of a Douglas fir can expose as much as three acres of chlorophyll surface to the sun. The lobes, leaflets and jagged edges of many broad leaves have their uses, too.

Phys.org: How a leaf's symmetry and lobes impact its journey back to the tree

Two physicists from the Technical University of Denmark have found that leaf shape is a determining factor in the distance leaves travel as they fall from their tree. In their paper published in the ...

How a leaf's symmetry and lobes impact its journey back to the tree

Did you hear what happened to the wooden car with wooden wheels and a wooden engine? It wooden go. Wood, at least from ash trees, is in excess supply since emerald ash borers have killed hundreds of ...

Plants that produce bi-pinnately compound leaves, such as this leaf of Guam's Serianthes nelsonii tree, are able to modify various traits of the intricate leaf design in order to maximize exploitation ...

Phys.org: How do trees survive dry and hot summers? Leaf lifespan and growth recovery are key

How do trees survive dry and hot summers? Leaf lifespan and growth recovery are key

Trees are not a monophyletic taxonomic group but consist of a wide variety of plant species that have independently evolved a trunk and branches as a way to tower above other plants to compete for sunlight. The majority of tree species are angiosperms or hardwoods; of the rest, many are gymnosperms or softwoods.