Shoot
51668
221949346
2008-06-26T20:46:03Z
AS
4062865
{{about|new growth in plants}}
[[Image:Cucumber leaf.jpg|thumb|The shoot of a [[cucumber]].]]
'''Shoots''' are new plant growth, they can include [[plant stem|stems]], flowering stems with flower buds, leaves. 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 and/or flower growth that grows on woody plants.
[[Image:GiantKnotweed048.jpg|thumb|Edible shoots of [[Fallopia sachalinensis|Sachaline]] ]]
In everyday speech, shoots are often confused with stems. Stems, which are a critical component of shoots, provide an axis for buds, fruits, and leaves.
Shoots are often eaten by animals because the [[natural fiber|fibres]] in the new growth have not yet completed secondary [[cell wall]] development, this makes shoots soft and easer to chew and digest. As shoots grow and age, the cells develop completed cell walls that have a hard and tough structure. As a protection, some plants (eg. [[bracken]]) produce [[toxin]]s that make their shoots inedible or less palatable.
== See also ==
* [[plant stem|Stem]]
* [[Bud]]
[[Category: plant morphology]]
{{botany-stub}}
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[[da:Skud (botanik)]]
[[de:Spross]]
[[fr:Germe]]
[[lt:Ūglys]]
[[nl:Scheut (plant)]]
[[ja:芽]]
[[pl:Pęd (botanika)]]
[[ru:Побег (ботаника)]]
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