Leaf gap

A leaf gap is a space in the stem of a plant through which the leaf grows. The leaf is connected to the stem by the leaf trace, which grows through the leaf gap.

Microscopic view of a stem tip of a Coleus plant, showing leaf gaps (C) and leaf traces (I) of young leaves.

The leaf gap is a break in the vascular tissue of a stem above the point of attachment of a leaf trace.[1] It exists in the nodal region of the stem as a "gap in the continuity of the primary vascular cylinder above the level where a leaf trace diverges toward a leaf. This gap is filled with parenchyma tissue".[2]

References
  1. answers.com
  2. Little, R. John; Jones, C. Eugene, eds. (1980). A Dictionary of Botany. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. p. 200. ISBN 0-442-24169-0.
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