underleaf

/ ˈʌndəˌliːf /

noun

1. (in liverworts) any of the leaves forming a row on the underside of the stem: usually smaller than the two rows of lateral leaves and sometimes absent

Example Sentences

This includes the purple underleaf coloration, which is thought to soak up the light reflected off the ground.

From Washington Post

In the showiest part of the conservatory, the high-domed jungle area, we find a rain forest groundcover named hemigraphis, with its upper leaf surface a metallic gray, its underleaf a glowing purple.

From Washington Post

Fruit on a short branch from the axil of an underleaf.

From Project Gutenberg

Here the trees stood untroubled by the gale that poured high over them from the south, though on the other side of the harbour the wind roared in the olives, and turned their green to the grey of the underleaf, and the great surges beat and burst on the rocks he had narrowly avoided.

From Project Gutenberg

The soil up here, about 2,500 feet above sea-level, though rock-laden is exceedingly rich, and the higher we go there is more bergamot, native indigo, with its underleaf dark blue, and lovely coleuses with red markings on their upper leaves, and crimson linings. 

From Project Gutenberg