Leaf words, taken down by ear
Somebody said it out loud. Now you have to type it.
saidpyoo-BESS-unt
typedpubessent
spelledpubescent
The words for leaf shape are Latin adjectives that English took in whole and never repaired. Hearing one is easy. Writing it down is the problem, because the letters carry a history the sound has dropped.
Filed in three sections
Outlines and tips
The shape of a whole blade and the point it ends in.
22 heard spellings
Margins and veins
What happens at the edge of the blade, and the pattern running through it.
laciniate emarginate reticulate
31 heard spellings
Surface and texture
How a leaf feels in the hand and what is sitting on the surface.
17 heard spellings
Each word page opens onto its own list of heard spellings, one page each.