It's wonderful to revisit this thread with the occasion of new posts.
When I mention that I know of no book which goes into the possible meanings of the details of the flowers and leaves, I included Marteau's book in this exclusion (a book
very much worth having, by the way).
Just to add to that, on the other hand, let me add a few comments from Marteau's book on, for the sake of one example, the seven of Cups.
It is worth mentioning that Marteau tends to divide the cards into sections, so that the lower belongs to the physical world, etc.. He also looks at how the
overall plant or animal pattern
relates to the suit emblems and their relative positions.
So here is my translation of the first two paragraphs (p151):
- The seven of Cups is characterised by the central cup, surrounded [enveloped] by a leafed 'ramification' [French word is here left - in the context, though it makes sense, I cannot find an adequate translation for the word], having its roots in the lower medial Cup and terminating with two leaves which envelop the upper medial Cup.
It thus symbolises moral awareness [Fr. 'une prise de conscience' has ambiguous connotations] of the universal influx beginning in the inferior world, then developing in the realm of the animal level, in order to fix it in sight. In other words, it is a view of a Being which, stretching itself from Above towards the nadir, permits itself to be aware of the complexity of both individual and universal conscience [the word has both the sense of the English as well as implying its etymological sense of 'with knowledge', ie, awareness], and comparing them.
For those who can read through my botched translation (it's quite a skill which I am admiring in others all the more with the passage of time), what seems (at least partially) evident is the usage of the
shape of the overall pattern to bring together or separate in peculiar ways various other aspects of the cards. Much earlier in the book, he had also (from memory, but I did not find it from glancing at the book as I write this) given particuliar sense-meanings to the various colours. Combined, these again add to the overall card meaning - which he does for this and other cards (on the following page for this card).
I suppose that in a sense, he does therefore give meaning to the leaves and stems - but not in a way in which I (maybe mis-)took the question to be posed.
A wonderful thread indeed.