• an elongated, cylindrical structure that encloses younger parts of the shoot. 
• Its major function is to protect younger shoots inside of it and to support the whole plant, which explains why there are very few chloroplasts found in the sheath mesophyll.

• flat, elongated, and ribbon like--the "leafy" part of the leaf
• it is usually longer than the sheath
• its major function is to perform photosynthesis

• a white band at the junction of the blade and the sheath

   Here is a close up of the collar.

 Ligule

• triangular, papery scale located inside the blade
• it looks like a continuation of the sheath
• it is absent in some species

• a pair of hairy, sickle-shaped appendages located in the junction of the collar and the sheath
• it is absent in some species

This picture beautifully shows a pair   of auricles on a young rice leaf.

Introduction | Flowers&Fruit | Roots | Stems | Leaves