<P> In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem . Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately . Buds may be specialized to develop flowers or short shoots, or may have the potential for general shoot development . The term bud is also used in zoology, where it refers to an outgrowth from the body which can develop into a new individual . </P> <P> The buds of many woody plants, especially in temperate or cold climates, are protected by a covering of modified leaves called scales which tightly enclose the more delicate parts of the bud . Many bud scales are covered by a gummy substance which serves as added protection . When the bud develops, the scales may enlarge somewhat but usually just drop off, leaving a series of horizontally - elongated scars on the surface of the growing stem . By means of these scars one can determine the age of any young branch, since each year's growth ends in the formation of a bud, the formation of which produces an additional group of bud scale scars . Continued growth of the branch causes these scars to be obliterated after a few years so that the total age of older branches cannot be determined by this means . </P> <P> In many plants scales do not form over the bud, and the bud is then called a naked bud . The minute underdeveloped leaves in such buds are often excessively hairy . Naked buds are found in some shrubs, like some species of the Sumac and Viburnums (Viburnum alnifolium and V. lantana) and in herbaceous plants . In many of the latter, buds are even more reduced, often consisting of undifferentiated masses of cells in the axils of leaves . A terminal bud occurs on the end of a stem and lateral buds are found on the side . A head of cabbage (see Brassica) is an exceptionally large terminal bud, while Brussels sprouts are large lateral buds . </P> <P> Since buds are formed in the axils of leaves, their distribution on the stem is the same as that of leaves . There are alternate, opposite, and whorled buds, as well as the terminal bud at the tip of the stem . In many plants buds appear in unexpected places: these are known as adventitious buds . </P>

What is a terminal bud on a plant