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The term "shoots" is often confused with "stems"; "shoots" generally refers to new fresh plant growth, including both stems and other structures like leaves or flowers. [2] In most plants, stems are located above the soil surface, but some plants have underground stems. Stems have several main functions: [3] Support for and the elevation of ...
A leaf (pl.: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, [1] usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis.Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", [2] [3] while the leaves, stem, flower, and fruit collectively form the shoot system. [4]
Plant anatomy or phytotomy is the general term for the study of the internal structure of plants. Originally, it included plant morphology , the description of the physical form and external structure of plants, but since the mid-20th century, plant anatomy has been considered a separate field referring only to internal plant structure.
Prickles on a blackberry branch. In plant morphology, thorns, spines, and prickles, and in general spinose structures (sometimes called spinose teeth or spinose apical processes), are hard, rigid extensions or modifications of leaves, roots, stems, or buds with sharp, stiff ends, and generally serve the same function: physically defending plants against herbivory.
The upper angle between one part of a plant and another, e.g. the stem and a leaf. axile On an axis; of a placenta, on the central axis of the ovary. axillary Borne in or arising from the axil, usually referring to the axil of a leaf. axis The main stem of a whole plant or inflorescence; also, the line along which this stem extends.
The epidermis of most leaves shows dorsoventral anatomy: the upper (adaxial) and lower (abaxial) surfaces have somewhat different construction and may serve different functions. Woody stems and some other stem structures such as potato tubers produce a secondary covering called the periderm that replaces the epidermis as the protective covering.
The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets). [1] The edge of the leaf may be regular or irregular, and may be smooth or have hair, bristles, or ...
Microscopic view of a stem tip of a Coleus plant, showing leaf gaps (C) and leaf traces (I) of young leaves. A leaf gap is a space in the stem of a plant through which the leaf grows. The leaf is connected to the stem by the leaf trace, which grows through the leaf gap. The leaf gap is a break in the vascular tissue of a stem above the point of ...