Plate 01
A leafy climbing stem
Use this plate when a guide asks you to find a node, separate a leaf from its petiole, or locate the tissue that can produce another shoot.
Illustrated field reference · 19 terms
Find the plant part before you act.
Choose a plate, select a label, and learn what the term means on a real plant. The illustrations are teaching landmarks, not species-identification charts.
Choose a specimen
Anatomy plates
Plate 02
A rosette and its root system
Use this cutaway to distinguish the crown from the root ball and to see where offsets, lateral roots, root tips, and root hairs belong.
Plate 03
A young tree at soil level
Use this plate before planting, mulching, or pruning a woody plant. The important landmarks sit at branch unions and where the trunk widens into roots.
Plain-language index
All 19 landmarks
Showing all 19 terms.
01
Leaf + stem
Leaf blade
LaminaThe broad, usually flat portion of a leaf.
02
Leaf + stem
Midrib
Main leaf veinThe prominent central vein running through many leaf blades.
03
Leaf + stem
Petiole
Leaf stalkThe stalk that connects a leaf blade to a stem.
04
Leaf + stem
Leaf axil
The angle above a leafThe upper angle where a leaf or its petiole meets the stem.
05
Leaf + stem
Node
Leaf attachment pointA point on a stem where a leaf, bud, branch, or aerial root may attach.
06
Leaf + stem
Internode
Stem between nodesThe section of stem between one node and the next.
07
Leaf + stem
Axillary bud
Lateral budA small growth point in or near a leaf axil that may develop into a side shoot.
08
Leaf + stem
Growing point
Shoot tip or apical meristemThe region of actively dividing tissue that produces new stem and leaf growth.
09
Leaf + stem
Aerial root
Root produced above the soilA root that begins on an aboveground stem rather than inside the potting mix.
10
Crown + roots
Crown
Shoot-root junctionThe compact region where stems or leaves arise and the root system begins.
11
Crown + roots
Leaf base
Lowest part of a leafThe portion of a leaf nearest its attachment to the stem or crown.
12
Crown + roots
Offset
Pup or daughter plantA new plantlet produced beside or from the parent plant, often from a short stem, runner, or rhizome.
13
Crown + roots
Root ball
Roots and held growing mediumThe root system together with the mass of growing medium it currently holds.
14
Crown + roots
Lateral root
Side rootA root that branches from another root and extends the plant’s root system.
15
Crown + roots
Root tip
Growing end of a rootThe actively growing end of a root, protected at its leading edge by a root cap.
16
Crown + roots
Root hairs
Fine absorbing extensionsMicroscopic extensions of young root surface cells that greatly increase contact with water and dissolved nutrients.
17
Woody base
Root flare
Trunk flareThe widening transition where a tree trunk meets its upper structural roots.
18
Woody base
Branch collar
Swollen branch baseThe often swollen tissue around the base of a smaller branch where it joins a larger stem or trunk.
19
Woody base
Branch bark ridge
Raised bark above a unionA raised strip of bark formed at the upper side of many branch unions.
How to use the plates
A landmark is not a diagnosis.
Plant forms vary. A node on a pothos, crown on an African violet, and root flare on a young tree will not look identical to these simplified specimens.
Look before cutting. Confirm the plant, propagation method, and required tissue in the linked guide. A leaf, petiole, root, or stem segment is not viable for every species.
Describe location precisely. Naming the affected structure makes photographs, notes, searches, and conversations with a horticultural professional more useful.
Reference desk
Sources
- BotanyNC State Extension Gardener Handbook
- Monstera deliciosa propagation mapUniversity of Minnesota Extension
- Tree Pruning EssentialsPurdue Extension
- Trees Need a Proper StartPurdue Extension
Written and maintained by Nicklaus. Substantively updated .