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Multiple leaves attached to the same node are fairly unusual. One example is found on the macadamia nut tree. The leaf arrangement in the macadamia tree is best characterized as ___.

a) Alternate
b) Whorled
c) Opposite
d) Spiral

User ChW
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Final answer:

The leaf arrangement of the macadamia tree is whorled, characterized by having three or more leaves per node. Leaf form can be simple with an undivided blade or compound with the blade divided into leaflets, which may be either pinnately or palmately arranged.

Step-by-step explanation:

The leaf arrangement in macadamia trees is best characterized as whorled. This means that at each node of the stem, there are three or more leaves attached. Whorled leaf arrangement is less common than other arrangements such as alternate, spiral, or opposite. While alternate leaves are staggered along the stem, spiral leaves twist around the stem, and opposite leaves grow directly across from one another in pairs, whorled leaves involve a grouping of three or more leaves all emerging from a single node.

Regarding leaf form, leaves may be simple or compound. Simple leaves have an undivided blade, as seen in the banana plant, or they may have lobes that do not extend to the midrib as in the maple leaf. Compound leaves, however, have their blades divided into leaflets, such as in the locust tree. There are two main types of compound leaves: pinnately compound, which have leaflets extending from a central midrib, and palmately compound leaves, which feature leaflets that spread out from one point like the fingers of a hand.

User Morton
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