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. The leaf gap is a break in the

vascular tissue Vascular tissue is a complex conducting tissue, formed of more than one cell type, found in vascular plants. The primary components of vascular tissue are the xylem and phloem. These two tissues transport fluid and nutrients internally. There ...

of a

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

above the point of attachment of a leaf trace. It exists in the nodal region of the stem as a "gap in the continuity of the primary

vascular cylinder In a vascular plant, the stele is the central part of the root or stem containing the tissues derived from the procambium. These include vascular tissue, in some cases ground tissue (pith) and a pericycle, which, if present, defines the outermost bo ...

above the level where a leaf trace diverges toward a leaf. This gap is filled with parenchyma tissue".

References

{{reflist Plant physiology Plant anatomy Leaves