Description of the Elm: Its Branching and Leaf Spacing
A drawn elm spray with notes on branch order and the interval between leaves
Under the heading 'Description of the elm', Leonardo records the growth rule of the elm's branching, drawn as a slender leafy spray in the right margin. He notes that when the leader is straight the greatest branch sits at the front, while the smallest are the first and next-to-last. He measures leaf spacing as about half a leaf-length (a little less), the gap between leaves being roughly a third of a leaf's width, and adds in the margin that the elm's leaves cluster nearer the branch tip and vary little in apparent width from a single viewpoint.
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Branch order and leaf spacing of the elm
When the leader is straight, the elm's greatest branch is at its front and the smallest are the first and the penultimate. From one leaf to the next the interval is about half the greatest leaf-length, somewhat less, since the gap between leaves is roughly a third of a leaf's width.
Leaves cluster toward the tip and read alike from one viewpoint
In the margin Leonardo adds that the elm keeps its leaves nearer the tip of the branch than its base, and that their widths vary little when regarded from one and the same aspect.