Stipule is an appendage present at the base of the leaf stalk. Each leaf of Ficus rubiginosa has a cap-shaped stipule to protect the shoot tip. These are the modified bud scales. These stipules abscise from the stem when the leaf begins to form a petiole and break away from the terminal bud.

In Zizyphus, the stipules are spiny. A stipule refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk. A pair of stipules is considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a flowering plant. Stipules appear as scales, hairs, spines or laminar structures. There is a relationship between the stem node and the presence or absence of stipules.