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American Museum of Natural History

Plant Morphology

From leaf margin and arrangement to the parts of a flower and a corn seedling, take an illustrated look at plant morphology with this collection of guides.

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Parts of a Flower

Go beyond petals and leaves! Learn how to identify a flower's stamen, anther, filament, stigma, and more with this illustrated look at the parts of a flower. 

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Leaf Arrangement

Leaves are attached to stem nodes in three different arrangements: alternate, opposite, and whorled. Learn how to spot these leaf arrangements before venturing out on your next field study. 

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Leaf Type

Compound or single? Knowing this fundamental difference in leaf type is key to identifying plant specimens. This illustrated guide shows you what both look like. 

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Types of Compound Leaves

Is your compound leaf pinnate or palmate? And if it's pinnate, is it pinnate odd, pinnate even, or twice pinnate? Find the answers easily with this illustrated guide.

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Leaf Shape

More than likely with a good guess you could detect a heart-shaped leaf from one that's oval or narrow. But do you know how to recognize a leaf that has a lobed or divided shape? Learn how. 

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Leaf Margins

Entire or toothed? Being able to distinguish between these two types of leaf margins will help you identify a plant specimen. This illustrated guide shows you what both look like.

  • More About This Resource...

    • This Web page serves as a linked table of contents for the museum's supplemental resources on plant morphology. From it, you can access the following illustrated guides with a single click:

      • The Parts of a Soybean Seedling (Glycine max, Dicotyledon),
      • The Parts of a Corn Seedling (Zea mays, Monocotyledon),
      • Leaf Arrangement,
      • Leaf Type,
      • Types of Compound Leaves,
      • Leaf Shape,
      • Leaf Margin, and
      • The Parts of a Flower.

    • Completion Time

      Less than 1 period

    • Teacher Tip

      Supplement a study of biodiversity with an activity drawn from this library of plant morphology resources.

      1. Ask students what they know about the form and structure of plants. Keep a running list of their answers.
      2. Divide the class into eight groups, assigning each a different illustrated plant morphology guide.
      3. Send the groups to this online table of contents, or distribute a copy of each group's guide.
      4. Have the groups further investigate their topic and then make a brief class presentation on what they learned.
      5. Update the class list after each group's presentation.

    • Topic

      Biology

    • Subtopic

      Plants