In botany, the following terms are used to describe the shape of plant leaves:
- Acicular: slender and pointed
- Alternate (alternifolia): Arranged alternately
- Bipinnate (bipinnata): Each leaflet also pinnate
- Cordate (cordata): Heart-shaped, stem attaches to cleft
- Cuneate: Triangular, stem attaches to point
- Deltoid: Triangular, stem attaches to side
- Digitate (digitata): Divided into finger-like lobes
- Elliptic (elliptica): Oval, with a short point
- Falcate: sickle-shaped
- Flabellate: Semi-circular, or fan-like
- Hastate: shaped like a spear point, with flaring pointed lobes at the base
- Lance-shaped, lanceolate (lanceolata): Long, wider in the middle
- Linear: Long and very narrow
- Lobed (lobata): With several points
- Obcordate: Heart-shaped, stem attaches to tapering point
- Oblanceolate (oblanceolata): Top wider than bottom
- Obovate: Teardrop-shaped, stem attaches to tapering point
- Opposite (oppositifolia): Leaves opposite one another
- Orbicular: Circular
- Ovate (ovata): Oval, egg-shaped, with a tapering point
- Palmate (palmata): Divided into many lobes
- Peltate (peltata): Rounded, stem underneath
- Perfoliate (perfoliata): Stem through the leaves
- Pinnate (pinnata): Two rows of leaflets
- odd pinnate : pinnate with a terminal leaflet
- paripinnate, even-pinnate : pinnate lacking a terminal leaflet
- Pinnatisect (pinnatifida): Cut, but not to the midrib
- Reniform: Kidney-shaped
- Rhomboid (rhomboidalis): Diamond-shaped
- Rosette: Leaves in close rings
- Round (rotundifolia): Circular
- Spatulate, spathulate (spathulata): Spoon-shaped
- Spear-shaped (hastata): Pointed, with barbs
- Subulate: Awl-shaped
- Sword-shaped (ensiformis): Long, thin, pointed
- Trifoliate, ternate (trifoliata): Divided into three leaflets
- Tripinnate (tripinnata): Each leaflet divided into three
- Unifoliate : with a single leaf
- Whorled: In circles round the stem
