ABSTRACT Feature descriptor for image retrieval has emerged as an important part of computer vision and image analysis application. In the last decades, researchers have used algorithms to generate effective, efficient and steady methods in image processing, particularly shape representation, matching and leaf retrieval. Existing leaf retrieval methods are insufficient to achieve an adequate retrieval rate due to the inherent difficulties related to available shape descriptors of different leaf images. Shape analysis and comparison for plant leaf retrieval are investigated in this study. Different image features may result in different significance interpretation of images, even though they come from almost similarly shaped of images. A new image transform, known as harmonic mean projection transform (HMPT), is proposed in this study as a feature descriptor method to extract leaf features. By using harmonic mean function, the signal carries information of greater importance is considered in signal acquisition. The selected image is extracted from the whole region where all the pixels are considered to get a set of features. Results indicate better classification rates when compared with other classification methods.