Definition

1. Noun:
   • A leaf shaped like a spearhead with flaring pointed lobes at the base: A hastate leaf is a specific botanical term describing a leaf whose overall shape resembles a spearhead or arrowhead, characterized by two pointed lobes that flare outward at the base where the leaf attaches to the stem.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The plant was easily identified by its distinctive hastate leaf.
  • Botanists note that the hastate leaf is common in certain species of the bindweed family.

Advanced Usage

• In Botanical Descriptions: The term is used in formal botanical keys and descriptions to classify and identify plant species based on leaf morphology.
  • The key characteristic separating this species is the presence of a hastate leaf.

Variants and Related Words

• Hastate (adj): The adjective form used to describe the leaf shape.
  • The plant has hastate leaves.
• Sagittate leaf (n): A related leaf shape that is arrowhead-shaped but with the basal lobes pointing backward, toward the stem, rather than flaring outward.

Synonyms

• Spearhead-shaped leaf: A more descriptive, non-technical synonym.
• Arrowhead leaf: A common informal term, though it can be less precise as it may also refer to sagittate leaves.

Related Phrases

• Hastate base: Refers specifically to the base of a leaf having this shape.
  • The leaf is ovate with a hastate base.

Noun

1. a leaf shaped like a spearhead with flaring pointed lobes at the base