Leaf Venation

Venation is the arrangement of veins and veinlets within the leaf lamina. Veins are responsible for conducting water and minerals as well as manufactured food, and together they form the structural framework of the lamina. Two broad venation patterns are recognised: reticulate venation, where the veins branch repeatedly and interconnect to form a net-like pattern — this is the common pattern in dicot leaves, such as Datura, whose leaves are described in this chapter as having reticulate venation; and parallel venation, where the main veins run alongside one another for most of …