rough leaf
[rough a.]
1. The first true leaf of a (garden or field) plant, as distinguished from the cotyledons; a foliage leaf.
| 1754 Justice Scots Gard. Direct. 95 In about three Weeks Time these Plants will begin to put out their rough Leaves. 1763 Mills Syst. Husb. IV. 174 Soon after it has put out it's third, or what the gardeners call it's rough, leaf. 1801 Farmer's Mag. Nov. 413 As soon as they have put out the rough leaf, they should be transplanted. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 749 Its cotyledons then expand upwards into two rudimentary smooth leaves, and immediately thereafter two true or rough leaves appear. |
2. The stage of growth when the true leaves have appeared.
| 1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. x. 95 They are so long in such dry poor Land before they get into Rough Leaf. 1787 Winter Syst. Husb. 239 The fly too frequently destroys the young [turnip] plants before they grow into rough leaf. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 660 After..the plants have formed considerable tops, and are in what is usually termed rough leaf. 1848 Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. 323 A healthy braird being produced, nearly in a state approaching to the ‘rough leaf’. |