thumb|upright=1.35|European beech (Fagus sylvatica) bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specialized to develop flowers or short shoots or may have the potential for general shoot development. The term bud is also used in zoology, where it refers to an outgrowth from the body which can develop into a new individual.
AI overview
A bud is an undeveloped shoot on a plant, typically found where a leaf meets the stem or at the tip of a branch, that can either remain dormant or grow into new leaves, flowers, or branches. Buds matter because they are how plants produce new growth and reproduce, allowing them to expand and develop over time.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
4 sectionsContents
- Overview
- Types of buds
- Image gallery
- References
thumb|upright=1.35|European beech (Fagus sylvatica) bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specialized to develop flowers or short shoots or may have the potential for general shoot development. The term bud is also used in zoology, where it refers to an outgrowth from the body which can develop into a new individual.
==Overview== thumb|right|Inflorescence bud scales in [[Halesia carolina]] The buds of many woody plants, especially in temperate or cold climates, are protected by a covering of modified leaves called scales which tightly enclose the more delicate parts of the bud. Many bud scales are covered by a gummy substance which serves as added protection. When the bud develops, the scales may enlarge somewhat but usually just drop off, leaving a series of horizontally-elongated scars on the surface of the growing stem. By means of these scars one can determine the age of any young branch, since each year's growth ends in the formation of a bud, the formation of which produces an additional group of bud scale scars. Continued growth of the branch causes these scars to be obliterated after a few years so that the total age of older branches cannot be determined by this means.