Never Paint Sunlit Transparent Leaves; Twig Arrangement
Cast shadows confuse transparent leaves; upper twigs hug the main branch
Leonardo warns the painter never to depict leaves transparent to the sun, because the sharp-edged shadow of an overlying leaf is stamped upon the transparency of the one beneath, sometimes covering a half or third of it and making the branching confused. He then records two botanical observations: that the upper twigs of a plant's lateral branches draw closer to the main branch than the lower ones, and that a leaf is less transparent when it takes its light amid more broken clouds. A small red-chalk sketch of twigs (ramiculi) sits in the right margin.
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Why sunlit transparent leaves must not be painted
Never depict leaves transparent to the sun, for they are confused: upon the transparency of one leaf is stamped the sharp-edged, definite shadow of another leaf above it, sometimes covering a half or a third of it. Such a branching is confused and its imitation is to be avoided.
Upper twigs hug the main branch more than lower ones
The upper little twigs (ramiculi) of the lateral branches of plants draw closer to their main branch than do those below. A leaf is less transparent that takes its light amid more irregular, broken clouds.