root-leafn.
/ˈruːtliːf/, U.S. /ˈrutˌlif/, /ˈrʊtˌlif/ Botany.
A leaf arising from the base of a stem; a radical leaf.
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root-leaf1712
1712 Philos. Trans. 1710–12 (Royal Soc.) 27 385 The Root-leaves [of sciatica cresses] stand on long foot-stalks.
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 198 The root-leaves..are never wing-cleft.
1852 A. Pratt Wild Flowers I. 154 Though the common shape of those [leaves] on the stem varies very much, yet the root-leaves taper towards the end, and are at the base arrow shaped.
1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 359 Spiranthes autumnalis,..flowering-stem sheathed distinct from the root-leaves.
1912 H. S. Thompson Sub-Alpine Plants ii. 282 One solitary root-leaf, linear, narrower at each end.
1994 R. Stephenson Sedum (2002) iv. 82 A second characteristic unique to subgenus Rhodiola is the existence of root-leaves, which often have very wide bases, a petiole, and then wider apices.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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