I’d guess that when you hear the term “broad leaf,” you immediately think of big, wide broad leaves.
Well, that’s not completely correct because not all broad leaves are wide.
There’s more to these broad leaves plants; they have seeds inside their fruits, and they are known for their broad and flat surfaces.
These leaves are also deciduous and are mostly angiosperms.
Let’s look at 10 plants with broad leaves. Curious about finding out, then, dive right in!
10 Plants With Broad Leaves
1. Maple Plant
A maple tree is an excellent description of a plant with broad leaves. The main distinguishing feature of a maple leaf is its serrated margins.
Maple leaves have 3-9 lobes, and in some cases up to 13 lobes. The maple leaves are arranged in a diagonal pattern.
However, the length and width of a maple leaf vary according to species. Maple leaves have an average width and length of 4 to 7 inches.
The flowers of the maple tree can be green, yellow, orange, or red. This plant contains both male and female parts on the same tree.
This is a fantastic feature as some trees may separate the female and male parts of the same tree.
Interestingly, maple trees don’t just have cool-looking leaves and colorful flowers, they also have fruits called samaras.
Most maple trees bear fruits in early autumn.
One interesting fact about maple leaves is that they change color depending on the season and plant species.
During the autumn, their leaves change from green to various shades of yellow, orange, and red.
2. Oak Plant
Talking about uniquely shaped leaves, oak leaves have an outstanding shape. The leaves of oak plants are spirally arranged.
However, the shape of an oak leaf differs based on its specie.
Oak leaves have 7 to 11 lobes, and their length and width vary depending on the species of tree.
The length and width are usually between 5 and 9 inches. Some have serrated margins, while others have smooth margins.
In contrast to dioecious trees, which are either male or female, monoecious trees, which include oaks, grow both male and female flowers on the same tree.
There are three types of oaks: white oaks, red oaks, and black oaks. These trees produce the popular fruit called acorn.
Acorns can be found on the ground from mid-September to early October.
Here is an article I wrote on plants with cool leaves
3. Hickory Plant
The hickory leaf is narrowly shaped and long as well. This plant usually has multiple leaflets growing in opposite directions to each other on a stem.
An average hickory leaflet is about 2 inches to 8 inches long. This is however dependent on the specie of hickory but of course, their stems are usually longer.
For example, the shell-bark, a hickory species, has very long leaves and a stem up to 22 inches long. Individual leaflets, on the other hand, are rarely longer than 8 inches. Bitter-nut hickory has a relatively short rachis that ranges in length from 6 to 9 inches.
This tree produces a fruit called “Carya fruit”, this fruit appears in an egg-shaped drupe. Its flowers are small, yellow-green catkins that appear in the spring, and their leaves are always green. Although you may come across a pale yellow leaf, usually, this color could mean that it is most likely poisonous.
4. Walnut Plants
Walnuts are green and pinnately shaped; each stem can contain about 15 to 23 leaflets. Depending on the specie, the margins of walnut leaves can either be;
- Irregularly serrated
- Ovate-oblong
- Rounded
- Acuminate or ovate-lanceolate
Walnuts leaves are super unique; they usually have a hairy surface that is super shiny as well. The length of a walnut leaf is usually between 10 to 12 inches long and its leaflets are about 2 to 4 inches long.
The width of a walnut leaf is about 2 to 6 inches wide and the leaflets are about 0.5 to 1.5 inches long.
Walnuts are fruits produced by the walnut tree. Harvest of walnut fruits usually begins in the first weeks of September and comes to an end at the beginning of November every year.
5. Poplar Plant
Poplar leaves are a beauty to behold; they are heart-shaped with toothed margins. They can be alternate and have an oval shape as well.
Poplar leaves are usually between 5 to 10 cm long and most species have about 3 to 5 lobes.
This plant produces fruits that have small thick-walled capsules that contain many seeds. These seeds are usually covered in cottony tufts of silky hairs.
Poplar trees have long, drooping clusters of tiny flowers called catkins. Poplars are dioecious plants, meaning the male and female flowers grow on separate trees.
6. Beech Plants
Beech leaves can be identified by their dark green oval-shaped leaves. However, they can become red-brown in certain seasons like autumn. The edges of a beech leaf have also been noted to be hairy. Its leaves are known to have wavy margins.
The leaves of a beech tree are about 2 to 6 inches long and 2 to 4 inches wide.
The fruit of the beech tree is known as beechnuts or mast. Beeches are monoecious, bearing both male and female flowers on the same plant.
Also check out this article I wrote on plants with caudex
7. Palm Tree
Palm tree leaves are quite common leaves, they are pinnate in arrangement. They can also grow in palmate, alternate, and spiral patterns.
These leaves are recognizable for their length, they are about 5m long. Although their leaflets are not as wide as expected, they are about 1.5 to 2m wide.
Palm tree leaves have linear-lanceolate-shaped leaflets and they have a leaf stalk of about 1 to 1.5m long.
The leaves range in color from deep green to vibrant green.
What’s so unique about palm trees is the fact that it is responsible for the production of several fruits such as coconut, dates, açaí berries, peach palm, and African oil palm fruit.
8. Cherry Plant
This is the plant that produces cherries. The leaves of a cherry plant are glossy green, with serrated margins. The leaves of a cherry plant have an alternated leaf pattern.
Its leaves vary in shape and size depending on its specie. They can be long and narrow or oval, but the tip of the leaves is always pointy.
These leaves are generally between 2 to 6 inches in length and 1 to 2 inches wide. Cherry plants are also monoecious plants.
9. Corn Plant
When it comes to long leaves, corn plant leaves are top of the list. Corn leaves are about 10 to 40 inches long and they are usually 0.75 to 4.5 inches wide.
This plant is made up of alternate leaves that are linear in shape. They don’t have toothed margins, rather their edges are smooth.
The leaves of a corn plant are green and it is called “a husk.” The husk is the green leaves surrounding the corn ears. These leaves protect the kernels of the corn, which is the edible portion of the plant.
Corn plant is monoecious and it is usually made up of about 18 leaves per plant.
10. Oat Plant
Oat plant leaves are noted to have wider leaves when compared to other grain leaves. This plant also has long leaves just like corn. Their leaves are about 6 to 18 inches long and about 0.5 to 1 inches wide.
They have green alternate leaves that are linear in shape. They have rough hairy edges which makes them quite outstanding. Oat plants can either be monoecious or dioecious depending on its specie.
Conclusion
Broad leave plants aren’t just about their leaf size, as we’ve seen from the discussion, some broad leaves are not wide. However, these plants possess certain features that qualify them to be called broad leaf plants.
Some of these features include; their ability to have seeds in their fruits, they have to be deciduous, they have to be classified as angiosperm and they have too broad or flat surfaces.
