There's a lot of different terms used to identify the type of leaf you're examining. Below is a series of diagrams labeling the differnt parts, shapes, and styles of leaves. Take a closer look and learn some new vocabulary. Here, you can see the major parts of an individual leaf. The stipule isn't always found on a leaf and the stalk is also called the petiole sometimes.

The direction in which the veins run along the blade of the leaf is described as either parallel or pinnate.

Here, we see five different pictures of Compound Leaves. Compound Leaves refer to a set of leaves found in a set pattern on a specific plant. So, the leaves are not identified by a single leaf, my multiples of them. The tiny, individual leaves on each whole compound leaf are called leaflets. Pinnate Twice pinnate Palmate Three-divided (trifoliate) Three-times-three-divided (ternate)