A '''leaflet''' in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf|entire leaf, but it is not borne on a Plant stem|stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf . Compound leaves are common in many plant families. For example, a tomato plant has leaflets on compound leaves.
Leaflets borne on the central vein of a leaf are referred to as ''pinnae''; the compound leaves themselves are described as ''pinnate''. A plant may be further subdivided in that the pinnae are themselves split into leaflets, or ''pinnules''; these leaves are now twice pinnate, or ''bipinnate''. A few plant species even have ''tripinnate'' leaves.
Image:Bay leaf pair443.jpg|The entire leaf of a Bay Laurel
Image:Ветвь акации.jpg|The pinnate leaf of an ''Acacia''
Category:Plant morphology
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