noun
- small leaves with a single unbranched vein, typically found in certain primitive plants like clubmosses
Usage: botanical term
Examples
- Clubmosses are characterized by their small microphylls arranged spirally around the stem.
- The fossil record shows that early vascular plants had microphylls rather than complex leaves.
- Botanists distinguish between microphylls and the larger, more complex leaves of modern plants.
- Each microphyll contains only a single vascular strand.
- The evolutionary transition from microphylls to megaphylls was a major development in plant history.
- Selaginella species display typical microphylls with their simple structure.