True leaves

The term ‘true leaves’ (or ‘foliage leaves’) is used to differentiate leaves which are in the form you would expect for the plant (ie ‘true’ to form) from seed leaves (called ‘cotyledons’) which generally take a different form.

Some seedlings will only have true leaves above ground whereas others will have one, or a pair of, seed leaves at the bottom of the stem and true leaves above them. Which they have depends on whether their germination is epigeous or hypogeous.