Leaves' structure
Plants play a very important role in our surroundings. Trees provide us with fresh air, shade in summers, food, and other benefits without which we cannot even think of living.
One of the most principal organs of a tree is a leaf. The leaves are the organs for photosynthesis - a process when carbon dioxide is turned into oxygen. The structures of leaves are adapted for efficient photosynthesis.
Most leaves are broad and so have a large surface area allowing them to absorb more light. Also, they are thin, which means a short distance for carbon dioxide to diffuse in and oxygen to diffuse out easily. The blade is the broad, flat part of the leaf. Photosynthesis occurs in the blade, which has many green food-making cells.
If you look closer at leaves, you will notice networks of thin threads. Those networks are called veins: they support the structure of the leaf and transport substances to and from the cells in the leaf. The main vein of a leaf, running down the centre of the leaf, is called midrib.
The area of some plants that connects the plant's stem and leaf is called the petiole. The petiole is the pipeline through which the products of photosynthesis are moved from individual leaves to the rest of a plant and through which necessary chemicals and nutrients from other parts of the plant are brought to individual leave.