Single node or internode of stem or branch that is flattened and expanded to serve the functions of a leaf.
Node or internode of stem or branch that is flattened and expanded to serve the functions of a leaf.
A leaf- like structure which is really a flattened stem (shown by the fact t hat it may bear a flower, or flowers, on its surface in the axil of a bract- eg, Butcher’s-broom).
A flattened stem rather like a leaf and performing the same functions, as in the butcher’s broom (Ruscus aculeatus). Similar organs in acacias are called phyllodes.
A stem or branch with green tissues that performs the photosynthetic functions normally performed by leaves, as in many of the brooms. In many plants with cladodes true leaves are either absent or very small and short-lived. The term is often used in a narrower sense, for stems that are flattened and imitate leaves, but these are correctly phylloclades.