In
plant anatomy and
evolution a
microphyll is a type of
plant leaf with one single, unbranched leaf vein. Plants with microphyll leaves occur early in the
fossil record, and few such plants exist today. In the classical concept of a microphyll, the leaf vein emerges from the
protostele without leaving a
leaf gap. Leaf gaps are small areas above the node of some leaves where there is no vascular tissue, as it has all been diverted to the leaf.
Megaphylls, in contrast, have multiple veins within the leaf and leaf gaps above them in the stem.