4 Structural Fragility

Folds, curled edges and changing contours make the leaf’s spatial transformation visible. Its surface rises, contracts and turns inward, altering how the body occupies space and catches the light. This chapter asks how the withdrawal of water interacts with the leaf’s existing architecture and with other processes of ageing and deterioration. Whole-leaf photographs record posture and outline, while microscopic views examine the ridges, edges and transitions through which these changes become legible. 

Annotated autumn herbarium sheet featuring a yellow-orange leaf with three detailed macro views of its surface and veins.

Autumn herbarium page featuring a yellow-orange leaf and three close-up images of its veined cellular structure

Autumn herbarium specimen showing a yellow and purple dried leaf with three magnified texture details.
Autumn herbarium sheet showing a dried yellow-brown leaf with stem and three labeled close-up details of its textured, discolored surface.


Pressed red-brown autumn leaf with stem, shown alongside three macro texture detail images in a herbarium layout.