Survival through Adaptation

Looking at Leaves

Leaf Size and Shape

What Can Leaf Size and Shape Tell Us?

green circular leaf floating on the surface of the water and a quarter held next to it. The leaf is about 10x larger than the quarter.

Leaf 1

purple oval-shaped leaf floating on the surface of the water and a quarter held next to it. The leaf is about 10x larger than the quarter.

Leaf 2

heart-shaped green tropical leaf with a quarter on it. The leaf is about 50x larger than the quarter.

Leaf 3

green tropical leaf with a quarter on it. The leaf is about 70x larger than the quarter.

Leaf 4

green tropical leaf with a quarter held next to it. The leaf is about 70x larger than the quarter.

Leaf 5

green rainforest leaf with wavy edges. The leaf is more than 100x larger than the quarter.

Leaf 6

round leaf floating on the water and a quarter held next to it. The leaf is about 24x larger than the quarter.

Leaf 7

green succulent leaf next to a quarter. The leaf is about 3x longer than the quarter and about 1/3 as wide.

Leaf 8

Green succulent leaves with red tips. A quarter is next to one of the leaves. The leaf is about 6x larger than the quarter.

Leaf 9

Pale green succulent leaf with white hairs. A quarter is next to the leaf. The leaf is about the same size as the quarter.

Leaf 10

bright green succulent leaf with a quarter next to it. The leaf is about 2x the size of the quarter.

Leaf 11

large pale succulent leaf with a quarter on the edge

Leaf 12

bright green succulent leaf with brown marginal teeth and a quarter resting on it. The leaf is about 15x larger than the quarter.

Leaf 13

Questions & Prompts:

  • Which leaves do you think grow in hot, dry conditions? Which leaves do you think grow in wet, shady conditions? Why?

  • Identify patterns between the leaves. What can these patterns tell you?

  • Choose one of the leaves above. Draw the leaf with as much detail as possible. Can people guess which leaf you chose based on your drawing?

  • Choose one of the leaves above. Write a descriptive paragraph. Can people guess which leaf you chose based on your writing?

  • What similarities do you see? What differences?

  • Describe the plant that you think made each of these leaves. How big is the plant? Where does it live? Does anything eat this plant?

  • Do any of these leaves look like the leaves in your community?


Adaptations

Small leaves have less total surface area than large leaves, and they lose less water than large leaves. Overheating can also be a problem for large leaved plants in dry, hot environments. Wide leaves heat up more than narrow leaves of the same length. In general, small, narrow leaves are well adapted to hot, dry, sunny environments.

Leaves from wetland environments have the opposite challenge! The rainforest has four layers (emergent, canopy, understory, and forest floor). Each of these layers blocks out sunlight. The forest floor gets almost no light at all! Leaves in these environments have adapted to low light and lots of water. Large leaves arranged horizontally absorb the most light possible. Because these plants have plenty of access to water, they can keep large leaves alive!