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BK First Draft (9/6) Leaf Analysis

Submitted by bkrislov on Fri, 09/06/2019 - 14:56

Draft Notes on item:
Red, straight stem.
Three leaves branching off of the stem.
All of the leaves protrude at 90 degree angles from each other, forming a cross pattern with the stem as the bottom.
The leaves on the sides  are roughly diamond in shape.
The center leaf has a V shape extending up from the stem, but at the top it is more bumpy and rounded.
Overall the leaves are somewhat vertically symmetrical but are not perfect.
The underside is pale green, while the top side of the leaves is more waxy and dark.
There is bruising or discoloration in the leaves that have turned a dark cherry in color.
The “veins” of the leaf branch off all the way to the outside of the green, extending from a central supportive structure that originates at the end of the red stem.
It has a mild smell of sap. 

The leave structure is fairly spry, it is spring and rebounds from being folded but folds rather easily along the stem lines.

Small hairs on the edge of the stem make a white fuzz.

 

The object given was a piece of plant matter presumably pried from a branch. It has a small red stem which extends straight from the breaking point. After 2cm it branches out in 3 directions. The stem then loses its color and becomes a brownish central support for a trio of leaves which are in forked out at 90 degree angles from each other. The leaves and the stem form a cross pattern when viewed from the front. The twin side leaves are diamond shaped with rounded points on the sides, while the top leaf is more of a fan shape. It extends from a V shape and then ends with an uneven bumpy-edged pattern. The center leaflet is slightly longer than the others at 3.3 cm, while the smaller side leaflets are 2.2 and 2.3 cm. Each is about the same width ranging from 1.9-2.1 cm. Overall it is very thin, with the stem being roughly a millimeter thick and the leaves around ½ mm. Most likely the three leaves are leaflets, and this stem is one leaf off of a larger plant. 

 

The red bruising on the leaves has a snakelike pattern that looks as if someone was drawing a body of water on a map. There is a dark area of concentrated discoloration and a trailing serpentine tail that follows it around the veins of the leaf. The bruising is much more visible and dark on the front, waxy dark green side of the leaf and more muted on the pale underside. The bruising does not appear to have affected structural damage, when pulled upon the leaf broke along the veins on the unbruised side, so it is perhaps only damage to the chlorophyll and not the structural cells that hold the leaf together.  It looks as if the damage occurs on the top side and the areas where you can see it are almost like ink staining through cloth on one side and just barely visible on the other. The plant has a distinct smell, though it is not pungent or foul. 

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