Relations of Plants Above the Ground 



107 



156. Leaf Buds and Flower Buds. If we notice the 

 buds on peach or plum branches from January until 

 spring, we shall see that not all the buds are the same size 

 or shape. Some are pointed and slender, and will form a 

 cluster of leaves when they burst forth in the spring, 

 and are hence called leaf buds. Others are broad and 

 rounded: these buds are flower buds. They are some- 



Fig. 51. Leaf buds and flower buds of plum. 1. Shoot bearing leaf -buds only. 



2 A bud of same enlarged. 3 and 5. Branches having leaf-buds and 

 flower-buds. 4, 6 and 7. Buds of same enlarged. Flower-buds at /; leaf- 

 buds at I, 



times called fruit buds, but, of course, the flower must 

 always precede the formation of the fruit, so it is best 

 to call them flower buds. Just below each bud is a leaf 

 scar. Sometimes we shall find the leaf scars, though the 

 buds are apparently not there. They are there, however, 

 but too small to be seen. They do not grow unless the end 

 of the branch is removed. Such buds as do not grow 

 except when stimulated are called latent buds. (Fig. 51.) 



