Australian Flora and Fauna: Plants of an Arid Land

Here is a transverse section of the leaf of an introduced mesophyte, Privet ( Ligustrum vulgare ). In transverse section, the leaf has distinct upper and lower halves, an arrangement termed dorsiventral.

Note that the stomata are only found in the lower epidermis, and the palisade mesophyll is only in the upper half of the leaf. Privet leaves are horizontally oriented in order to maximise light interception.