Branching of plants: elm, fern-like and willow forms
How different trees ramify and how their branches present themselves when foreshortened
A study of how different trees branch and how their branchings appear when seen foreshortened. Broad, thin, hand-like ramifications such as the elm are distinguished from round ramifications, where the sixth branch sits above the first, and from sparse, transparent ones like the willow; the elm's spreading form is likened to the leaves of the wild fern that grows on riverbanks. The note describes how the upper, middle and lower parts of a branch present themselves differently to the eye, the middle being the most foreshortened. Small tree and branch sketches in the upper-right margin accompany the text.
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Three forms of branching: elm-and-fern, round, and willow
Some plants, like the elm, branch broad and thin like an open hand seen foreshortened, resembling the leaves of the wild fern that grows along riverbanks. Others are round, such as trees whose branchlets set the sixth above the first. Others again are sparse and transparent, like the willow.
How the parts of a branch appear foreshortened to the eye
In such branchings the higher parts show their undersides, the lower ones their tops, and the middle both above and below. The middle part, whose tips turn toward the viewer, is the most strongly foreshortened. Grasping this lets the painter render a tree's depth correctly.
Marginal sketches of branching trees
Small pen sketches of trees and branches occupy the upper-right margin, illustrating the sparse, splayed branching described in the note. They show the thin, spreading habit that the text compares to an open hand and to fern fronds.