The pruned willow: shadow and relief of its branches
How a coppiced tree's shoots catch light, with a small schematic plant sketch
In red chalk, with a small schematic plant drawn at the top right, Leonardo describes how a willow and similar trees pruned every three or four years throw up many straight shoots. Their shadow gathers toward the middle where the shoots spring, while the tips cast little shadow because of their small leaves and sparse, thin branches. Branches rising toward the sky have little shadow and little relief, whereas branches turned downward from the horizon begin in the dark of the shadow and lighten gradually to their tips, giving good relief as graded lightening against a shadowy ground. The more sparsely a plant branches and leafs, the less shadowed it will be.
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The coppiced willow throws up straight shoots
The willow and similar plants, whose branches are cut every three or four years, put out many quite straight shoots; their shadow lies toward the middle where the shoots are born, and toward the tips they cast little shadow because of their small leaves and sparse, thin branches.
Branches turned downward lighten toward their tips
Branches that rise toward the sky have little shadow and little relief; those that look downward from the horizon are born in the dark part of the shadow and grow lighter little by little to their tips, showing good relief as degrees of lightening against a shadowy ground.