Laboratory Investigation # 6
Leaves
Description of the Lab
This lab is design to learn about the type of leaves different plants have include
Outline of Investigation
1. External Features of Leaves
A. Live potted Pelargonium (geranium) plant
B. Fresh leaves of the following:
2. Leaf Anatomy
A. Ligustrum (privet) leaf, cross section, prepared slide
3. Epidermis
A. Fresh Pelargonium (geranium) leaf
Microscope slide, coverslip, & razor blades
4. Woody Twigs and Shoot Modifications
C. Live potted Lathyrus (sweet pea)
D. Live potted Euphorbia pulcherrima (poinsettia)
Laboratory Materials and Equipment for Student Use
Materials and Equipment
Per
Student
Per Pair of
Students
Per Lab
Group
Per
Room
Microscope slides
1 box
Coverslips
1 box
Razor blades or knife
1
Fresh live material
Potted geranium (Pelargonium) and
Coleus plants
5
buckeye (Aesculus), willow (Salix), maple
5
5
5
5
Twigs with leaves of oak (Quercus),
5
5
Onion and garlic bulbs, ginger rhizomes,
potatoes, and kohlrabi
1
Strawberry plant with stolons
5
Prepared slides
Privet (Ligustrum) leaf cross section
1
Corn (Zea mays) leaf cross section
1
Wheat (Triticum) leaf cross section
1
Pine (Pinus) leaf cross section
1
Maple (Acer) leaf abscission
1
Preparation of laboratory Materials and Reagents
At the beginning of the semester
Purchase and grow the following plants
During fall or winter collect twigs from trees
1 day prior to the lab
1. Collect leaves
Questions for Lab #6 Leaves
Use the knowledge you acquired in this lab exercise, along with information from your
textbook, to answer the following questions.
1. What is the difference between simple and compound leaves?
2. Define leaf venation and give the two main types of leaf venation.
The arrangement of veins in a leaf is called venation. Venation can be parallel, when
3. What are the three main types of leaf arrangement on a stem?
4. What are the main tissues of the leaf and in which of the primary meristems does each
of them originate.
5. What is cuticle and what is its main function?
Lining the outside of the epidermis you will see a thin, clear, acellular layer, the waxy
6. Give the main functions of the palisade mesophyll and spongy mesophyll.
7. What are bundle sheaths and what are the functions of cells in the bundle sheaths? Do
monocot bundle sheaths have any additional function?
A layer(s) of nonvascular cells surrounding the vascular tissues (vein) in leaves make
8. What is leaf abscission?
Leaves have limited life spans and are shed in a process called abscission.