rough leafn.
/ˈrʌf ˌliːf/, U.S. /ˈrəf ˌlif/ Botany and Horticulture. Now rare.
1. The first true leaf of a plant, as distinguished from the cotyledons; a foliage leaf.
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the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > [noun] > true leaf
rough leaf1726
foliage leaf1872
1726 B. Townsend Compl. Seedsman 14 Rape or Turnep is another Seed to be sown for small Sallads,..and will soon run in warm Weather, for when the rough Leaf comes, it is not fit for a nice Sallad.
1754 J. Justice Scots Gardiners Director 95 In about three Weeks Time these Plants will begin to put out their rough Leaves.
1801 Farmer's Mag. Nov. 413 As soon as they have put out the rough leaf, they should be transplanted.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 749 Its cotyledons then expand upwards into two rudimentary smooth leaves, and immediately thereafter two true or rough leaves appear.
1937 M. Free Gardening xxvi. 420 When the seedlings have formed their first rough leaf, they should be allowed much more light.
2. The stage of growth of a plant when the true leaves have appeared.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > [noun] > true leaf > stage when these appear
rough leaf1733
1733 J. Tull Horse-hoing Husbandry x. 44 They are so long in such dry poor Land before they get into Rough Leaf.
1787 G. Winter New Syst. Husbandry 239 The fly too frequently destroys the young [turnip] plants before they grow into rough leaf.
1848 Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 2 323 A healthy braird being produced, nearly in a state approaching to the ‘rough leaf’.
1922 Amer. Fertilizer 6 May 74/1 The right stage for treatment with finely-ground kainit is when the charlock plant has just come into rough leaf.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1726