Tell us about the variety and structure of leaves?

The leaf is part of the shoot, the lateral vegetative organ of the plant. The variety of leaves, as well as the variety of plants themselves, is very large, depending on their habitat. For example, the leaf of duckweed is only a few millimeters, and the leaf of some palms reaches 20 meters. The leaves consist of a leaf blade (wide part), a petiole (stem-shaped narrow part) and a base (with its help, the leaf is attached to the stem). Most of the leaves have stipules at the base. In most plants, the leaf has one plane of symmetry (birch, sedge), but there are exceptions (conifers, succulents). By the number of leaf blades, simple (with one) and complex (several plates) are distinguished.