How to make skeleton leaves

Making skeleton leaves at home

What is a skele­ton leaf and how can you make your own? Find out with this sim­ple tu­to­ri­al!

Safe­ty pre­cau­tions

Con­duct this ex­per­i­ment only un­der adult su­per­vi­sion.

Reagents and equip­ment

  • stove;
  • pot;
  • 0.5 L wa­ter;
  • leaves;
  • 3 tbsp. bak­ing soda;
  • tooth­brush;
  • cut­ting board.

Step-by-step in­struc­tions

Heat 0.5 L wa­ter in a pot and dis­solve 3 tbsp. bak­ing soda in it. Im­merse a leaf in the so­lu­tion. Cook for 2.5 hours on medi­um heat. Gen­tly trans­fer the leaf to a cut­ting board. Use a tooth­brush to care­ful­ly clean the pulp from the leaf. Press the re­sult­ing skele­tal struc­ture. In 24 hours, your skele­ton leaf will be ready!

Process de­scrip­tion

The skele­toniza­tion of leaves is a nat­u­ral process. Fall­en leaves grad­u­al­ly break down un­der en­vi­ron­men­tal and mi­croor­gan­ic in­flu­ences, and their “skele­tal” com­po­nents, the veins that move wa­ter and nu­tri­ents, take the long­est to de­com­pose. A sim­i­lar process can be sim­u­lat­ed at home. In an ag­gres­sive en­vi­ron­ment and high tem­per­a­ture, the leaves’ pulp is de­stroyed and can be re­moved with a brush. The skele­tal struc­tures are much more durable be­cause they con­sist of plant fibers, which also com­prise the stems and roots. Plant fibers can be used to pro­duce threads and fab­rics.

Try it