twice as long as wide,
and regularly curved. _Elliptical_, [Illustration] more than twice as
long as wide, and evenly curved. _Oblong_, [Illustration] two or three
times as long as wide, with the sides parallel. _Linear_, [Illustration]
elongated oblong, more than three times as long as wide. _Acerose_,
[Illustration] needle-shaped, like the leaf of the Pine-tree.

2. _Broadest near the base._ _Deltoid_, [Illustration] broad and
triangular. _Ovate_, [Illustration] evenly curved, with a broad, rounded
base. _Heart-shaped_ or _cordate_, [Illustration] similar to ovate, but
with a notch at the base. _Lanceolate_, [Illustration] shaped like the
head of a lance. _Awl-shaped_, [Illustration] shaped like the
shoemaker's curved awl. _Scale-shaped_, [Illustration] short, rounded,
and appressed to the stem. The Arbor-vitae has both awl-shaped and
scale-shaped leaves.

3. _Broadest near the apex._ _Obovate_, [Illustration] same as ovate,
but with the stem at the narrow end. _Obcordate_, [Illustration] a
reversed heart-shape. _Oblanceolate_, [Illustration] a reversed
lanceolate. _Wedge-shaped_ or _cuneate_, [Illustration] having a
somewhat square end and straight sides like a wedge.

These words are often united to form compound ones when the form of the
leaf is somewhat intermediate. The term which most nearly suits the
general form is placed at the end; thus _lance-ovate_ indicates a leaf
between lanceolate and ovate, but nearer ovate than lanceolate; while
_ovate-lanceolate_ indicates one nearer lanceolate.

BASES.--Oftentimes leaves are of some general form, but have a peculiar
base, one that would not be expected from the statement of shape. An
ovate leaf which should have a rounded base might have a tapering one;
it would then be described as ovate with a _tapering base_.
[Illustration] A lanceolate leaf should naturally have a tapering base,
but might have an _abrupt_ one. [Illustration] Many leaves, no matter
what their general form may be, have more or less notched bases; such
bases are called _cordate_, [Illustration] _deeply_ or _slightly_, as
the case may be; and if the lobes at base are elongated, _auriculate_.
[Illustration] If the basal lobes project outward, the term
_halberd-shaped_ [Illustration] is used. Any form of leaf may have a
base more or less _oblique_. [Illustration]

POINTS.--The points as well as the bases of leaves are often peculiar,
and need to be described by appropriate terms. _Truncate_