Leaning into Leaves

Did You Know? Some individual leaves appear to be made of many!

That’s right, each of these figures represents a single leaf! Leaves are one of a tree’s many organs, and leaf shapes and arrangements help scientists to identify the species of tree they belong to! The petiole attaches a leaf to a twig. When trees shed their leaves, they sever the connection between twig and petiole, allowing the leaf to drop as an entire unit. Arguably easier than trying to learn on a vigorous tree, practice recognizing simple and compound leaves by watching…the ground! Pick up the end of a fallen leaf, and if it looks like it’s got more than one leaf attached (leaflets), you’re holding a compound leaf!

Time to help the VDOF!

It’s acorn-gathering season again, and to help with the Virginia Department of Forestry’s push to collect nuts for the nursery, our discovery walks in September and October are going to focus on getting to know our trees!

We’ll be studying leaf shapes, leaf colors, nuts, bark, and watching closely as our trees get ready for winter! Come join our adventures, and help us document how each species prepares itself a little differently from the others!