Fyllodium

Phyllodes are modified petioles or leaf stalks, which are leaf-like in both appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode comes to serve the purpose of the leaf. Some important examples are Euphorbia royleana which are cylindrical and Opuntia which are flattened. thumb|right|[[Acacia suaveolens (Sm.) Willd. [as Mimosa suaveolens Sm.] La Billardière (Labillardière), J.-J. Houton de, Novae Hollandiae plantarum specimen, vol. 2: p. 87, t. 236 (1804) (Poiteau)]]