Leafs Trade: One big Maple leaf can be worth 5 or 6 elm leaves easy

One giant Root Beer tree leaf can easily command a dozen Magnolia leafs

The leafs trade is hot. It may even be a significant portion of today’s USPS business. Leaf collector's trade leaves with each other the world over. Rarity, size and usability create the value. Some leaves are far more robust than others. Some leaves are so fragile that they must be preserved prior to shipment and are really only useful for display purposes. The best leaves are beautiful in their own right and have durable skeletons as well.

Strong veins create the skeleton of the leaf

When all of the fleshy green matter is removed from a leaf and only the veins remain, what results is called a leaf skeleton. Leaf skeletons can be very beautiful and tougher than they look. Some leaves have weak skeletons and no techniques have been found for revealing them.

Leaves are used in wreaths, on centerpieces and even framed

Some leaves, such as Bay and Rosemary leaves can be used for decoration and later used as a spice. Some leaves are preferred with their fall colors; some are preferred with their veins full of green chlorophyll. Different methods are used to preserve those colors, depending on when they are harvested.

The tradition of the leafs trade is to exchange leaves rather than sell them

But as the demand is growing for some leaves, the culture is changing. Bay and Rosemary and other herbals have always been sold, so those exchanging them were typically involved only as a hobby. Hopefully the leaf exchange will continue because it can be exciting to find someone in another country wants the selection of leaves you have to offer. This can often lead to a repeating exchange and even a long distance relationship. Through such an exchange, it is hard not to learn a little about foreign lands and cultures. Because of the growing demand, though, the general trend is away from a barter system and more toward a cash exchange. The popularity of the trade may be its own undoing, at least as a hobby.

If you are not currently a leaf enthusiast, than stop for a moment and consider all of the leaves you pass buy daily, their different shapes, colors and sizes. Look at one close up and you might be amazed at its complexity. Leafs are some of the everyday things that we take for granted but really should rejoice in their existence, for their beauty and for the real benefits they provide us as oxygenators of our planet. Spend just a little time and you will become interested as well. The incredible number of variations will soon dawn on you and your curiosity will compel to see more and more of the world of leaves. Do a few trades for leaves that you have never heard of, and you will be hooked.