a specialized leaf that is produced at the base of a plant, usually when the plant is immature, and which serves to anchor the plant to a substrate; especially notable in the fern Teratophyllum. (compare
(from the article `fern`) ...shaded lower trunks and branches or in the crowns of trees. A few so-called epiphytic ferns are actually climbers that originate upon the ground ...
A leaf at the base of a stem with the function of attachment to a substrate. ... (09 Oct 1997) ... 
bathyphyll A leaf at the base of a stem functioning as an attachment to a substrate (layer).