ETYM French pétiole, from Latin petiolus a little foot, a fruit stalk; cf. pes, pedis, a foot.
The slender stem that supports the blade of a leaf; SYN. leafstalk.
In botany, the stalk attaching the leaf blade, or lamina, to the stem. Typically it is continuous with the midrib of the leaf and attached to the base of the lamina, but occasionally it is attached to the lower surface of the lamina, as in the nasturtium (a peltate leaf). Petioles that are flattened and leaflike are termed phyllodes. Leaves that lack a petiole are said to be sessile.
Leaf-stalk.