palmatifid

Palmatifid is a botanical term used to describe a leaf or lamina that is palmately divided into several lobes or segments radiating from a common point, with deep incisions that create distinct, finger-like projections. The word derives from Latin palma, meaning hand, and fissus, meaning split, reflecting the hand-like appearance of the leaf blade. In palmatifid leaves, the lobes originate near the base at the petiole and extend outward, often separated by narrow sinuses that reach toward the midline of the blade.

The key identifying feature of palmatifid morphology is the depth of the divisions; the lobes are usually clearly separated and resemble fingers emerging from a central point. This contrasts with palmately lobed leaves where lobes may be broader and less deeply cut, and with pinnatifid leaves where divisions run along the blade rather than radiating from a single point.

Palmatifidy is mainly a descriptive term in plant morphology and is used across diverse taxa to convey a specific leaf form rather than to designate a taxonomic group. It should not be confused with palmately compound leaves, in which discrete leaflets are attached at a single point but are separate leaflets rather than lobes of a single lamina. Palmatifid descriptions help convey the degree of incisions and the radial arrangement that characterizes the leaf’s silhouette.