[split] f25v little dragon parallels

[-JKP-]

JKP - I can understand the leaf margins being important, but why veins?

Veins are one of the most important identifiers of a plant. Many plants can be identified by the veins even before they bloom.

It also shows plant relationships. Many parallel-veined plants are related to each other, just as many fan-veined plants are related (and are often aquatic).

Botanists use everything they can to ID plants (flower, seeds, whorls, veins, roots, stems, petioled or sessile, serrated or smooth, round or lanceolate, alternate or opposite), but the vein pattern (together with leaf shape and margins) is one of the first things you look at, especially in the winter and spring when most plants are not blooming.