Photo of a shoot tip with opposite, trifoliolate leaves. Emerging leaves are red and subtended by stipules which hold a pool of liquid. A white, dried crust formed along the margin of the pool. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

In Cunonia macrophylla, the large, interpetiolar stipules have colleters, which are large secretory hairs, on their upper surface. The stipules collect a pool of gooey fluid secreted by the colleters (drying white at the margins of the pool). #stipule #Cononiaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Photo of a leafy shoot with opposite compound leaves. The stipules are semicircular with serrate margins. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

Opposite, compound leaves with stipules are uncommon. Here’s a family that does it: Cunoniaceae, a family in the Oxalidales most abundant in the S. Hemisphere. The stipules are interpetiolar. This is Pancheria billardierei of New Caledonia. #stipule #Cononiaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱