Question

How is pinnately compound leaf different from palmately compound leaf?

Answer 1

The compound leaves may be of two types, pinnately compound leaf and palmately compound leaf. In pinnately compound leaf, a number of leaflets are present on a common axis, the rachis, which represents the midrib of the leaf as in neem. Pinnately compounded leaves may be of different types, such as unipinnate, bipinnate, tripinnate and decompound. In palmately compound leaf, the leaflets are attached at a common point, i.e., at the tip of petiole, as in silk cotton. Palmately compound leaf may be of different types, such as unifoliate, bifoliate, trifoliate, quadrifoliate and multifoliate

Answer 2

	Pinnately compound leaf	Palmately compound leaf
1.	The shape of the leaf resembles a feather	The shape of the leaf appears to be like the palm of the hand.
2.	Leaves are attached on both sides of the rachis.	The leaves remain attached at a single point at the end of the petiole.
3.	Depending on the structure of the rachis, they are unipinnate, bipinnate, trippinnate, or polypinnate.	Depending on the number of leaflets, they are monofoliate, bifoliate, trifoliate, quadrufoliate, or polyfoliate.