In tree terminology, what do we call the nodes that do not branch off any other nodes?

In tree terminology, nodes that do not branch off any other nodes are known as leaf nodes. Leaf nodes are the terminal points in a tree structure; they do not have any children. This characteristic is essential in various applications such as representing hierarchical data and implementing algorithms, as it allows for straightforward traversal and understanding of the structure.

Internal nodes, which are not the correct choice, refer to nodes that have at least one child, making them part of the branching structure of the tree. Root nodes represent the topmost node in the tree, serving as the starting point for traversal, while subtree nodes could refer to any node with their own subtrees but do not specify whether they are leaf or internal. Leaf nodes are specifically defined by their lack of children, making it clear why they represent the terminal points of the tree.