No, the LEAF doesn't split but...
"Plant STEMS perform two basic functions: they support the LEAVES and flowers and they carry water and food from place to place with the plant. A typical stem is cylindrical and may be soft (herbaceous) or woody. It is usually branched and leafy. The point at which a leaf joins the stem is called the node. There are several NODES on a stem, each separated by leafless internodes. Each node has one or more leaves, each of which has a bud in its basal angle (axil). These auxiliary buds often remain dormant but may produce a branch, especially if the main stem is damaged. Buds are in fact miniature shoots (stems) which have not yet elongated. The leaves are clustered together around the tip (the growing point). It is in the winter that buds are most noticeable. The outer leaves are modified as protective scales around the young stem. When these scale-leaves fall off in spring they leave rings of scars on the stem. The age of a woody twig can be established by counting these scar patches." |
