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Shoot (botany)

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– Shoot Types of Woody Plants:
– Woody plants have short shoots and long shoots.
– Short shoots, also known as spur shoots or fruit spurs, produce most flowers and fruit in some angiosperms.
– Some conifers and Ginkgo exhibit a similar pattern.
– Seasonal heterophylly results in visibly different leaves during spring and later growth.
– Long shoots in Cedrus deodara may have buds in leaf axils.

– Shoot Related Terminology:
Bud
– Crown (botany)
– Heteroblasty (botany) involves growth pattern changes in maturing plants.
– Lateral shoot
– Phyllotaxis refers to leaf arrangement on a plant stem.

– Shoot Development:
– New growth from seed germination forms shoots where leaves develop.
– Perennial plant shoots emerge in spring from herbaceous plants or woody plants.
– Stems are integral to shoots, providing support for buds, fruits, and leaves.
– Young shoots are softer and more digestible due to incomplete secondary cell wall development.
– Some plants produce toxins in shoots to deter consumption.

– Shoot Characteristics:
– Shoots consist of plant stems with appendages like leaves, buds, and flowers.
– In everyday language, shoots are often synonymous with stems.
– Shoot cells develop secondary cell walls, becoming hard and tough as they age.
– Animals often consume young shoots due to their softer texture.
– Shoots of some plants like bracken may be inedible or less palatable due to toxins.

– Shoot Anatomy:
– Shoots include plant stems with leaves, lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds.
– Shoots provide an axis for buds, fruits, and leaves.
– Shoots of cucumber, Sachaline, sunflower seedlings, and hass avocado exhibit typical shoot characteristics.
– Young shoots are preferred by animals for consumption.
– Shoots are essential for the growth and development of plants.

Shoot (botany) (Wikipedia)

In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages like leaves, lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the spring, perennial plant shoots are the new growth that grows from the ground in herbaceous plants or the new stem or flower growth that grows on woody plants.

In everyday speech, shoots are often synonymous with stems. Stems, which are an integral component of shoots, provide an axis for buds, fruits, and leaves.

Young shoots are often eaten by animals because the fibers in the new growth have not yet completed secondary cell wall development, making the young shoots softer and easier to chew and digest. As shoots grow and age, the cells develop secondary cell walls that have a hard and tough structure. Some plants (e.g. bracken) produce toxins that make their shoots inedible or less palatable.

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