Leaves and leaflets that have no stalks are said to be =sessile= (Figs. 98, 103), _i.e._ sitting. Find several examples. The same is said of flowers and fruits. The blade of a sessile leaf may partly or wholly surround the stem, when it is said to be =clasping=. Examples: aster (Fig. 99), corn. In some cases the leaf runs down the stem, forming a wing; such leaves are said to be =decurrent= (Fig. 100). When opposite sessile leaves are joined by their bases, they are said to be =connate= (Fig. 101). [Illustration: FIG. 99.--CLASPING LEAF OF A WILD ASTER.] Leaflets may have one or all of these three parts, but the stalks of leaflets are called =petiolules= and the stipules of leaflets are called =stipels=. The leaf of the garden bean has leaflets, petiolules, and stipels. [Illustration: FIG. 100.--DECURRENT LEAVES OF MULLEIN.] The blade is usually attached to the petiole by _its lower edge_. In pinnate-veined leaves, the petiole seems to continue through the leaf as a =midrib= (Fig. 91). In some plants, however, the petiole joins the blade inside or beyond the margin (Fig. 92). Such leaves are said to be =peltate= or shield-shaped. This mode of attachment is particularly common in floating leaves (_e.g._ the water lilies). Peltate leaves are usually digitate-veined. [Illustration: FIG. 101.--TWO PAIRS OF CONNATE LEAVES OF HONEYSUCKLE.] =How to Tell a Leaf.=--It is often difficult to distinguish compound leaves from leafy branches, and leaflets from leaves. As a rule leaves can be distinguished by the following tests: (1) Leaves are _temporary structures_, sooner or later falling. (2) Usually _buds are borne in their axils_. (3) Leaves are usually _borne at joints or nodes_. (4) They arise on wood of the _current year’s growth_. (5) They have a more or less _definite arrangement_. When leaves fall, the twig that bore them remains; when leaflets fall, the main petiole or stalk that bore them also falls. [Illustration: FIG. 102.--LINEAR-ACUMINATE LEAF OF GRASS.] [Illustration: FIG. 103.--SHORT-OBLONG LEAVES OF BOX.] =Shapes.=--Leaves and leaflets are infinitely variable in shape. Names have been given to some of the more definite or regular shapes. These names are a part of the language of botany. The names represent ideal or typical shapes; there are no two leaves alike and very few that perfectly conform to the definitions. The shapes are likened to those of familiar objects or of geometrical figures. Some of the commoner shapes are as follows (name original examples in each class): [Illustration] =Linear=, several times longer than broad, with the sides nearly or quite parallel. Spruces and most grasses are examples (Fig. 102). In linear leaves, the main veins are usually parallel to the midrib. [Illustration] =Oblong=, twice or thrice as long as broad, with the sides parallel for most of their length. Fig. 103 shows the short-oblong leaves of the box, a plant that is used for permanent edgings in gardens. [Illustration]