Phyllodes are modified petioles or

leaf A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode comes to serve the purpose of the leaf. Some important examples are ''

Euphorbia royleana ''Euphorbia royleana'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is also known as Sullu spurge, and Royle's spurge. It is a succulent and almost cactus like in appearance although unrelated. It grows right across the Himala ...

'' which are cylindrical and '' Opuntia'' which are flattened. Acacia suaveolens 155867

They are common in the genus ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

'', especially the Australian species, at one time put in ''Acacia'' subg. ''Phyllodineae''. Sometimes, especially on younger plants, partially formed phyllodes bearing reduced leaves can be seen. The illustration (to the right) of ''

Acacia suaveolens ''Acacia suaveolens'' (sweet wattle) is a shrub species endemic to Australia. It grows to between 0.3 and 3.5 metres high and has smooth purplish-brown or light green bark and has straight or slightly curving blue-green phyllodes The pale ...

'' from ''

Novae Hollandiae plantarum specimen ''Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen'' is a two-volume work describing the flora of Australia. Facsimiles of the originals can be found in the onlinBiodiversity Heritage Library (Vol.1)anVol 2) The author was the French botanist Jacques Labillar ...

'' shows the juvenile true leaves, together with the developing phyllodes, and the phyllodes of the mature plant. The genus, ''

Daviesia ''Daviesia'', commonly known as bitter-peas, is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, and is endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Daviesia'' are shrubs or small trees with leaves modified as phyllodes or ...

'', in the family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

, is characterised in part by the plants having phyllodes. File:Acacia suaveolens 9064505997 9f14f5f117 o.jpg, ''

'' File:Lathyrus nissolia eF.jpg, ''

Lathyrus nissolia ''Lathyrus nissolia'', the grass vetchling or grass pea, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is native to most of Europe, Maghreb, Levant and the Caucasus. Despite its common names, it is not a grass, but belon ...

'' File:Daviesia angulata - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg, ''

Daviesia angulata ''Daviesia angulata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, spreading shrub with prickly, flattened phyllodes, and yellow flowers with red markings. Descript ...

'' File:Daviesianudiflora14633633025 079b5a9a46 o.jpg, '' Daviesia nudiflora'' File:Acacia mangium leaves.jpg, ''

Acacia mangium ''Acacia mangium'' is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to northeastern Queensland in Australia, the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, Papua, and the eastern Maluku Islands. Common names include black ...

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite journal, last1=Crisp, first1=M.D, title=Contributions towards a revision of ''Daviesia'' (Fabaceae: Mirbelieae). III.* A synopsis of the genus, journal=Australian Systematic Botany, volume=8, issue=6, year=1995, pages=1155, issn=1030-1887, doi=10.1071/SB9951155 PlantNET glossary: P
National Herbarium of NSW, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Plant morphology fr:Phyllode