Information About Apple Leaves on Trees

Apple trees produce a sweet, crunchy fruit that stores well and you can eat them cooked or raw. These fruit trees need full sun to grow and fruit well. Apple trees also have attractive blossoms that appear between spring and mid-summer. For most apple trees to have fruit, however, you must have two apple trees, or an apple and a crabapple tree, that bloom during the same time period. Apple leaves are similar to pear and peach leaves, although their shapes are distinctive, and are susceptible to several of the same diseases.

Leaf Type and Location

The two main types of leaves are needle leaves or broadleaves. Needle leaves occur on evergreens like pines and spruces. Apple trees have broadleaved plants. In addition, the pattern of where the leaves come off the branch is important. Some plants have one leaf on each side of a branch at the same spot. These are opposite leaves. Alternate leaves alternate sides of the stem. In addition, some leaves circle the stem in a whorled pattern. Apple leaves are alternate.

Simple or Compound

The petiole is the stem of the leaf that attaches it to the tree limb. Some leaves are simple, having only one leaf per petiole. Other leaves have many small leaflets attached to the central petiole. These more complex leaves are compound leaves. Apple leaves are simple. In addition, leaves have different shapes including circular, oval and heart-shaped. Apple leaves are oval-shaped.

Entire, Lobed or Toothed

Another property of leaves is how they are shaped. Entire leaves have smooth outlines like redbud trees. Lobed leaves, like oaks, have deep sinuses. In addition to lobes, some leaves have teeth. The teeth can be single- or double-toothed. Double-toothed leaves have one tooth that starts before the first one ends. There are other qualities to teeth as well, such as curving toward the tip of the leaf or sticking out straight. Apple leaves have single short teeth along the edge that are not considered curved.

Veination

Leaves have several different types of veins. Some leaves have parallel veins that follow the edge of the leaf from the base to the tip. Other leaves have reticulated veins. There are two types of reticulated veins. One type of reticulated vein pattern is palmate veins, where the veins radiate from the base of the leaf like fingers from the palm of a hand. The other type of reticulated vein pattern is pinnate venation, where each pair of veins branch off into smaller veins. Apple leaves have pinnate veins.