Never paint leaves transparent to the sun, because they are confused; and this is because on the transparency of one leaf will be seen the shadow of another leaf which is above it. This shadow has a distinct outline and a certain depth of shade and sometimes is [as much as] half or a third of the leaf which is shaded; and consequently such an arrangement is very confused and the imitation of it should be avoided.
The light shines least through a leaf when it falls upon it at an acute angle.
Taken from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci edited by Jean Paul Richter, 1880.