Leaflet (botany)
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A leaflet (occasionally called foliole) in botany is a leaf-like part of a compound leaf.<ref name="WaltersKeil1996">Template:Cite book</ref> Though it resembles an entire leaf, a leaflet is not borne on a main plant stem or branch, as a leaf is, but rather on a petiole or a branch of the leaf.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Compound leaves are common in many plant families and they differ widely in morphology.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The two main classes of compound leaf morphology are palmate and pinnate. For example, a hemp plant has palmate compound leaves, whereas some species of Acacia have pinnate leaves.
The ultimate free division (or leaflet) of a compound leaf, or a pinnate subdivision of a multipinnate leaf is called a pinnule or pinnula.
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Pinnate leaf of a legume with 10 leaflets -
Mimosa pudica folding leaflets inward.
