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The documents both start with the title of the paper in bold followed by the names of the authors. The slime mold paper labels the abstract as such while the leaf-mining paper does not, though both abstracts are found at the start of each paper. The leaf-mining paper is structured like classic primary literature, featuring level 1 headings for the introduction, methods, results, discussion, and references sections, as well as various level 2 headings within each section. However, the slime mold paper is organized by topic using only level 1 headers. 

The abstracts of both papers are short paragraphs describing the object of and reason for the study. The introduction to the leaf-mining paper opens with an explanation as to why the subject of the study was chosen, followed by a series of explanatory paragraphs concerning the reasons for the study. The first section of the slime mold paper describes the conceptual question at hand and addresses the reason for the study.

Descriptive factors:

spikes, spots, wet, big branches, small home environment, dry soil, not enough soil for the plant to survive, aloe vera pups, some brown spots 

Outside, the aloe vera plant in front of me stands approximately 11 inches high. The plant was store bought, and was in good health when first purchased. Today, two weeks later, the aloe vera is observed for progress. It has a thick exterior resistant to stronger winds. The spikes that peek out on both sides of the succulent are not as sharp as they look. On the flat surface of each branch, there are light green spots that give the plant its vibrant look. Each branch meets at the center of the pot, and closer observation by touch reveals the dry soil surrounding it. Though the plant is large, the pot it resides in is small. One could make the assumption that the aloe vera is living in a cramped environment with little room to breathe. The conditions are not optimal for the succulent, which explains why the plant is beginning to show the first stages of decay. The damage is minimal, but I hypothesize within the next few weeks the decomposed areas will spread. However, at the center of the plant, it is glossy and wet: a sign of self lubrication and health. When lightly pressing on the branches, one could feel the gelatinous liquid inside. In addition, the succulent does not give off any notable scent. 

When presented with a plant sample that needs identification, one might start with whether the sample is woody, tree-like, shrub-like, vine, forb, aquatic, or evergreen versus deciduous. The sample in question seems to be possibly deciduous and shrub-like. It has broad flat leaves that are dark green on the top and lighter green on the bottom. The leaves themselves are almost waxy and reflective to some degree. The next step in identification is deciding whether or not the leaves are truly simple leaves, or compound structured leaflets. There are three total leaves in question within this sample. To decide this, the axillary bud must be identified. There are no axillary buds identifiable on this sample. Since it does not appear at the base of each leaf, one might assume that it was located at the base of the main leaf stalk connecting the three leaves together. This would make them leaflets rather than true leaves. The leaflets are organized in a compound structure rather than alternating. The margins of the leaflets are also key to identification. The margins of this sample appear to be wavy rather than serrated, lobed, or smooth. The overall shape of the leaflet is almost tear drop shaped with the narrow end toward the leaf stalk. Some leaf or leaflet shapes could be round, heart shaped, palm-lobed etc. but this sample remains a tear drop shape with wavy margins. Each leaflet is symmetrical; rather than asymmetrical. The overall size of the sample is 7cm in length and 7cm in width. Each leaflet is about 3.5cm in length and 3cm in width. Each leaf has a small dark brown discoloration to it that has a swirl like pattern branching off the discolored shape. This could be some sort of parasite or unfortunate symbiotic relationship. The dark brown discoloration seems to be a damaged part of the leaflet that reduces the surface area of green useful parts to the leaflet. Overall it is possibly a negative symbiotic relationship going on there. There are also 3-5 small bumps about 1mm in diameter on each leaflet. they are raised on the top of the leaflet and not noticeable on the bottom. It is unclear if there is a relationship between these bumps and the discolored patches. The bumps are a lighter green than the top dark green hue. They also have a slight pink tinge to them. The leaf stalk is fuzzy in appearance and pinkish brown colored. It is also flexible and has no bark. With these defining characteristics, one should be able to identify this plant using a key; assuming they know what region the sample is from.   

When presented with a plant sample that needs identification, one might start with whether the sample is woody, tree-like, shrub-like, vine, forb, aquatic, or evergreen versus deciduous. The sample in question seems to be possibly deciduous and shrub-like. It has broad flat leaves that are dark green on the top and lighter green on the bottom. The leaves themselves are almost waxy and reflective to some degree. The next step in identification is deciding whether or not the leaves are truly simple leaves, or compound structured leaflets. There are three total leaves in questions. To decide this the axillary bud must be identified. There is no axillary buds identifiable on this sample. Since it does not appear at the base of each leaf, one might assume that it was at the base of the main leaf stalk connecting the three leaves together. This would make them leaflets rather than true leaves. The leaflets are organized in a compound structure rather than alternating. The margins of the leaflets are also key to identification. The margins of this sample appear to be wavy rather than serrated, lobed, or smooth. The overall shape of the leaflet is almost tear drop shaped. Some leaf or leaflet shapes could be round, heart shaped, palm-lobed etc. but this sample remains a tear drop shape. It is symmetrical rather than asymmetrical. The overall size of the sample is 7cm in length and 7cm in width. Each leaflet is about 3.5cm in length and 3cm in width. Each leaf has a small dark brown discoloration to it that has a swirl like pattern branching off the discolored shape. This could be some sort of parasite or unfortunate symbiotic relationship. The dark brown discoloration seems to be a damaged part of the leaflet that reduces the surface area of green useful parts to the leaflet. Overall it is possibly a negative symbiotic relationship going on. There are also 3-5 small bumps about 1mm in diameter on each leaflet. they are raised on the top of the leaflet and not noticeable on the bottom. It is unclear if there is a relationship between these bumps and the discolored patches. The leaf stalk is fuzzy in appearance and pinkish brown colored. It is also flexible and has no bark. With these defining characteristics, one should be able to identify this plant using a key; assuming they know what region the sample is from.  

This red stem connects three leaves; one points upwards while the two other leaves point left and right. It stands up as if it has a head with arms. While one side of it is bright green, the other side is a darker shade of green. The total size of the leaf is small enough to lay flat and stay within my palm. It is 7.8 centimeters in height and 6.6 centimeters in length. It somewhat has a serrated edge, but it is not rigid as a knife. There are visible signs of wilting (black/brown areas throughout the leaf), yet it seems to still breath on its own. One characteristic that separates the leaf from another individual is that it has two scratches that run throughout the top leaf. The scratch starts from the top center of the stem (about 2/3 up the leaf). It travels out towards the edge of the leaf but leaves 0.3 centimeters of space between the cut and the edge of the leaf. The second cut starts at the end of the previous cut and goes down towards the stem in a lightning bolt shape, stopping "1/3 way up the leaf." The signs of wilt were later identified as leaf miners. A little coat of white fur/wax surrounds both the leaves and the stem. The stem seems to have been through blunt trauma as if someone ripped it off rather than cut it. A bit of clear, viscous liquid oozes out the bottom of the stem. Is it calling for water? The darker side of the leaf seems to have a stronger odor coming off it than the other side. It reminds me of a jungle. The darker side of the stem also has visible lines where water travels throughout the plant (almost like veins). Close observation shows  tiny segments outlined by even smaller "veins" throughout the leaf. Although it does not look dangerous to digest, the signs of leaf miners refrain me from doing so (as well as the teacher's advice). The ink from my pen seems to stick onto the leaves thoroughly. I could probably write a whole sentence on it without it tearing.

The mystery leaf placed on my desk is superficially a green compound leaf, with three leaflets branching from the red center stem.  The red center stem continues to about half way throuh each leaflet were it transitions to a yellow center vein. The yellow veins subseuently branch into smaller and smaller veins off of the center vein. The leaflets are translucent with a waxy surface on the front side of the leaf; The back side of the leaf is a light green, with a matte finish. There is a golden yellow perimeter of the leaf that follows the asymmetric indentations of each leaflet. The yellow perimeter is periodically interupted by brown masses of damaged tissue, left behind by leaf minners. As the mass moves towards the outer perimeter of the leaflet, it grows thicker. The brown tissue is most concentrated at the edge of the leaflet. There are small three dimentional circular orbs of brown mass that are sitting on the leaflets. These orbs are most likely the eggs left by the leaf minning moths. The eggs enter the upper layer off the leaf tissue and burrow until they exit the leaflet to become a new generation of leaf minnig moth. This narrative is shown in the brown tissue pattern: the brown tissue starts off thin at one point on the leaflet and grows until it reaches the edge.  The leaf minning pattern makes each leaff unique and can be used to distinguish one leaf from another.

The stem of the leaf is reddish-pink with the darkest color at the point where three of the leaves join together. The color is similar to rhubarb almost where the color is vastly more blue-tinted rather than orange-tinted, more berry tone rather than coral tones. Looking at the end of the stem, the outside of the stem is pink the inside is green. The inside is also fibrous, with uneven strands, giving the impression that the leaf is ripped apart from the tree rather than cut with a scissor or fallen from the tree naturally. The fibrous inside is slightly glossy that gives an impression of being wet or at least there used to be some liquid on the stem. it's the glossiness where a sugary viscous drink is spilled over on a surface and after it has been dried, there are sticky spots that when the light hits it just rights it becomes shiny as though there is a waxy varnish on the surface.  At the end of the stem, there are some sort of white waxy substance that is not present in any of the other parts of the stem

The leaf reminds me of a shamrock due to the three leaves protruding out of its petiole. The two leaves attached at the side of the petiole are similar in size. Furthermore, the center most leaf has an upward curve. The top of the leaf has a smooth wet surface. In contrast, the bottom of the leaf had a chalky texture. The leaf colors also vary. The top of the leaf has a darker green color, while the bottom leaf is a lighter green color. The texture and color differences may be due to photosynthesis. The leaf must be adapted to absorb light so the top of the leaf problably has more chlorophyll. I noticed that each leaf has a midrib going through the center. The midrib starts thick near the petiole, but then decreases in thickness as it travels near the apex. The leaf I was given was noticeably veiny. Each leaf had around eight veins coming out from the midrib. The veins themselves had additional veins coming out of them. This reminded me of a blood under a microscope. The leaf had a musky, skunk like smell. It kind of reminded me of back home where we had lots of skunks running around. The unpleasant smell of the leaf might play a role in repelling insects and birds. What was very interesting for me were the quantitative measurements. The total width of the leaf was 7.2cm wide. The total length of the leaf was 7.2cm. I also noticed that the leaf always felt cold. It seems that the leaf does not hold to heat well.

The sample given by Professor Brewer in class was a compound leaf (was open from one point in different directions, like a palm). It appeared to be plucked from a plant having red stem. The end of the stem was large- bulb like and had white powder on it. The leaflets had yellow outline and was waxy and darker on the upper part as compared to the lower part of the leaf. The leaf had three leaflets, two of which were of the same size and teardrop shaped, and appeared to be identical whereas the bigger leaflet was kite shaped and different than the other two. Two small leaflets which were teardrop shaped had purplish spots on them. One of the leaflets also had purplish bumps which made the plant look malnourished or diseased. There can be a possibility that those bumps were another species living on the leaflets as symbiotic relationship.  The leaf was overall a little dried out. All three leaflets were pale green/yellowish green in color but one of them was darker than the other two. The midrib of the bigger leaflet also had black spots which were evident and very small in size. The purple spots on the leaflets also followed a curvy pattern which looked like ink was seeping through paper. Leaflets also seemed to have little hair coming out of them which I suppose was for moisture to stay on them. Red stem also became yellower as it extended through the leaves as the midrib. Veins of the leaflets followed a beautiful pattern and looked like alveoli of human lungs. Veins were lighter in color (mostly yellow) as compared to the color of the leaf. At last, odor of the leaf cannot be described but the leaf had a very distinguishable scent.

The plant sample given out in class,  I believe, is a compound leaf; it has three main leaf parts similar to a clover. The three leaf parts are connected to the stem at the same point; the stem itself was redish-maroon and  1.75 cm. The three leaf parts were different sizes and shapes, the main part (middle) was larger than the other two being 4.25 cm it is also a spade like shape with indentations. The outer leaves were smaller the right one being 3.5 cm and the left being 2.5cm presumably because it was damaged the most.  The overall plant piece is 6 cm tall and 5.5 cm wide. Both the peripheral leaves were damaged and had leaf minor damage on them. There was also many small bumps on the leaf, my best guess as to what these would be it either eggs of the leaf minor moths or possible just something the leaf grew into and absorbed because it is a crawler type of plant. The leaves all were firm and would return to its form, which I found intersting, they were quite structured with many viens and a thick waxy top layer.