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    Axillary Bud

    /AK-sil-air-ee BUD/
    🔬 Anatomy●● Intermediate

    Also known as: lateral bud

    An axillary bud sits at the junction of the stem and the leaf stalk, arising from the outer layer of the stem cortex. Each one can grow into a vegetative shoot or a flowering shoot. Auxin from the shoot tip holds it dormant, which is why removing the terminal bud releases the buds below it into growth.

    Etymology

    From Latin axilla, meaning "armpit," the same root that gives the axil in which the bud sits.

    Example

    Pinching out the terminal shoot of a young fuchsia releases the axillary buds below it, producing a bushier plant.