Translations:Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Nature/Wattles/3/en

2. a. What are phyllodes?
b. What work do they do for the plant?
c. Why are phyllodes so important in the study of acacias?

Acacia koa with phyllode between the branch and the compound leaves

Phyllodes are modified leaf stems (also called petioles). In some plants, the petioles become flattened and widened, and the true leaves may become reduced or vanish altogether. Thus, the phyllode comes to serve the purpose of the leaf. Phyllodes are common in the genus Acacia, especially the Australian species, at one time put in Acacia subgenus Phyllodineae. Sometimes, especially on younger plants, partially formed phyllodes bearing reduced leaves can be seen.