How do leaves work?

Each individual leaf of a plant is an amazing little factory that converts the power of the sun’s light into starch and sugars to feed the plant. As the climate changes from each country to the next so does leaf the leaf type. Some plants have extremely large leaves while others have thin needle leaves but lots of them. Leaves also change depending on the life cycle of a plant, for example trees in temperate climates grow large and wide leaves to capture the maximum amount of light before they drop their leaves for winter.

So how does a leaf capture light, convert it to energy and give it to the plant? Photosynthesis is the key process that allows this to happen and it works through the intricate design of a leaf. Stomata are the pores on a leaf that can take in water as well as capture sunlight. The stomata of the plant is also where the plant takes in carbon dioxide and exchanges oxygen. As time has moved on certain leaf types were more suitable for different climates. In the Taiga forest of Russia the conifer trees live in snow for a large portion of the year.

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These trees still keep their needle leaves all throughout the winter and do not let the frost kill them. In the temperate woodlands of Europe many trees are deciduous meaning they lose their leaves before winter. This is because the lack of sunshine does not provide enough food or light for the plant to justify keeping its leaves. So when these trees lose their leaves it is up to the plant to use its summer reserves of food.

• When plant leaves turn yellow and orange in the autumn it is a signal that the chlorophyll in the leaves has been used up and there is not enough light and food to carry on producing new green leaves.

• Some plants have what we would call a primitive central nervous system. The sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) is the perfect example, its long thin leaves curl up when anything touches them and if it carries on attacking the plant it flops over and plays dead. After a few minutes the plant grows upright and starts again.

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• The horse chestnut has huge leaves that curl out of beautiful sticky buds on the tree, the leaves of this deciduous plant are perfect for capturing lots of sunlight. This helps them build up their food reserves for the winter when they lose their leaves, by capturing more light the tree can also grow faster.
• Some plants do not have leaves but still photosynthesise. These leafless plants such as the worlds largest flower rafflesia live as parasites and flower from the host plant. These plants use their host by taking the food, sugars and water to save their energy for flowering.
• Carnivorous plants are also very interesting these peculiar plants do not use the nutrition in their soil but instead use specially adapted leaves that actively trap insects and animals.