Describing plants that have leaves of unequal size or shape on the same stem or branch.
From Greek 'anisos' (unequal) + 'phyllon' (leaf) + '-ous' (adjective suffix). Botanical terminology solidified this term in the 1800s.
Many tropical plants show this trait where one leaf on a pair is noticeably bigger than the other—it's an adaptation that helps them collect sunlight more efficiently in shady forest understories.
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