What type of margin do most leaves have?

Question

What type of margin do most leaves have?

Answer 1

If you lump all the toothed and serrated edges together then they are much more common than smooth edges in temperate forests. Tropical forests have mostly smooth edged leaves. Climate and leaf margin are closely tied and the teeth seem to offer unfolding leaves earlier photosynthesis as trees open their leaf buds.

Monocots have parallel veins like grass, or lilies so often have smooth edges but serrated margins are not unknown, e.g., in Agavaceae (Dracaena) or Smilax that have finely ciliate-serrulate leaf edges.

Classes of leaf margin

http://www.cas.psu.edu/docs/CASDEPT/Hort...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...

Ecological Significance of Toothed Leaves in Temperature Forest Trees

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2...