# Graph > Stem-and-Leaf Plot

A stem-and-leaf plot divides each data value into a stem and a leaf and shows the leaves corresponding to each distinct stem in the data set in a tabular fashion. Like a histogram, the frequency of each category (each stem in a stem-and-leaf plot) can be easily seen. However, unlike a histogram, the individual data value can be retrieved from the plot by combining each stem with its corresponding leaves. For example, for the values {1.5, 2.3, 4.5, 4.8, 6.5, 8.5, 8.8, 9.5}, the stem-and-leaf plot is

Stem | Leaves
1 | 5
2 | 3
3 |
4 | 58
5 |
6 | 5
7 |
8 | 58
9 | 5

In this plot, the unit of each leaf is 0.1. The individual data value can be found by appending the stem to each of its leaf. Stems with no leaves are inserted between the first and the last stem so that all stems are evenly spaced.

The stem-and-leaf graph utility allows the user to specify a number of graph variables and an optional variable that groups the data into a number of categories. It also provides the options of specifying the leaf unit, whether the outliers should be excluded, and whether the stems with no leaves should be displayed. The leaf unit must be equal to 10x where x is an integer. Outliers are those that fall outside of the interval [first quartile - 1.5 * IQR, third quartile + 1.5 * IQR], where IQR is the interquartile range.

## Dialog Inputs

- To open the stem-and-leaf utility, select Graph > Stem-and-Leaf Plot.
- Select the columns containing data values under Graph Variables list. Control-click to select multiple variables. A separate plot is created for each column of values if no Group-by variable is selected (see next item).
- If the data values have their corresponding category labels in a separate column, select the column of the category labels in the Group By Categories in drop-down menu. A separate plot is created for data values belonging to each category label.
- [optional] Enter the leaf unit (must be equal to 10x, where x is an integer). If the leaf unit is not specified, it will be determined by the following method: A leaf unit for a data value is the place to the right of the first non-zero digit of the value (e.g.The leaf unit of 141 is 10, and the leaf unit of 0.023 is 0.001). The leaf unit for a set of data values is the maximum of the leaf units of the individual data values.
- Select the Exclude outliers checkbox to exclude the outliers from the plot.
- Select the Display stems that have no leaves checkbox to display the stems with no leaves.
- Click OK to create the stem-and-leaf plot. The plot will be displayed in the log window.