Venation

venation [ vee-Ney-shuhn, vuh– ] noun: in botany, the arrangement of veins in a leaf

Ficus carica (common fig) palmate leaf showing branching venation. — Branching venation of *Ficus carica* (common fig).
Photo © Mary Free

Veins are the vascular bundles in leaves that transport water and minerals absorbed by the roots and move the products of photosynthesis to the stem where they can be delivered elsewhere in the plant to fuel growth or to store as needed. The midrib is the central vein of a leaf. Primary veins are the thickest, most noticeable veins. The thinner secondary veins branch off from the primary veins and the ultrathin tertiary veins branch off from the secondary veins. The arrangement of veins in a leaf is called venation.

Two common forms of venation that are the starting point for many plant identification systems are pinnate and palmate. In a pinnate leaf, the secondary veins are spaced along the central midvein in a feathered pattern as in the leaves of Betula nigra (river birch). Palmate veins form a branching pattern that radiates from the place where the petiole joins the leaf blade, like fingers from a hand, as displayed by the leaves of Cercis canadensis (eastern redbud) and Ficus carica.

A third venation pattern is fan-shaped, as in gingko trees (though in some identification systems Gingko biloba is treated as a variation of two-lobed venation, as the Latin name hints). A fourth form, arcuate, has a strong midrib and curved secondary veins in a more heart-shaped arrangement exhibited by the leaves of Swida alternifolia syn. Cornus alternifolia (alternate-leaf dogwood).

The parallel venation of a fifth form appears in most monocotyledons (grass and grass-like flowering plants whose seeds usually contain only one embryonic leaf or cotyledons) like Cymophyllus fraserianus (Fraser’s sedge). (Refer to this Broadleaf Forms and Arrangements chart for illustrations of phyllotaxy, types, shapes, margins, and venation.)

Alternate, simple, pinnatelyveined leaf of Betula nigra (river birch) with doubly-serrate margins with each tooth bearing smaller teeth in August.

Palmate venation of native Cercis canadensis cultivar

Native Swida (Cornus) alternifolia Leaves

Southern Appalachian native Cymophyllus fraserianus (Fraser's sedge) leaves showing finely-toothed margins and many "equal" parallel veins with no midrib.

Left to right: pinnate (B. nigra), palmate (C. canadensis cultivar), fan-shaped (G. biloba), arcuate (S. alternifolia), and parallel (C. fraserianus.)

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Reference

Hermsen EJ. 2021. Angiosperm leaf architecture. Digital Atlas of Ancient Life.