Plant shoot and its structure.

The shoot, like the root, is the main organ of the plant. A stem with leaves and buds is called a shoot.

The stem is the axial part of the shoot, the leaves are lateral. The areas of the stem on which the leaves develop are called nodes, and the areas of the stem between the two nearest nodes of one shoot are called internodes.

Many plants have two types of shoots: one with long and others with short internodes. Shoots with well-visible internodes are called elongated. If the internodes are very short, such shoots are called shortened.

The angle between the leaf and the internode located above is called the leaf sinus. On the shoot, there are also the beginnings of new shoots – buds.

Each plant species is characterized by a certain arrangement of buds on the shoots, their shape, size, color, pubescence. By these and some other signs, you can determine the name of a tree or shrub even in winter.

The arrangement of axillary buds repeats the arrangement of leaves on the stem (for more details on leaf arrangement, we will talk in the section “Types of leaf arrangement”).

Example: poplar, cherry, birch, bird cherry, hazel have alternate buds.

The buds are located oppositely on the shoots of lilac, elderberry, jasmine, honeysuckle and indoor plants fuchsia, pilea, coleus, which are characterized by the same leaf arrangement.

When the seed germinates, the shoot is formed from the bud of the seed embryo. In perennial plants, shoots develop from a bud.