02.01.04: Stem and Leaves

Example

Stem leaves.png

Where to Use

When you want to evoke the stem and leaf pattern found in many plants as part of the scaling of ornamentation.

Abstraction

Consider using a ‘dog-bone’ structure to represent opposite leaves and their stems. Attach this dog-bone structure to the main stem:

Example stem leaf2.png

Alternatively, the main stem may be exaggerated in width, leading to a form somewhat reminiscent of a vertebrae:

Example stem leaf.png

A modified version of this pattern was used by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Hollyhock House motifs.

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