Stems/Growth Habit

aborescent

Becoming treelike and woody, usually with a single main trunk.

bark

Outer layer of trees. Note: the same species of tree may have different types at different stages of its life, or because of different growing conditions.

exfoliating bark

platelike bark

smooth bark

corky bark

furrowed bark

ridged bark

blocky bark

branch collar

junction of a branch and the trunk.

caulescent

With a distinct stem.

corm

A short, upright, hard or fleshy bulb-like stem, usually covered with papery, thin, dry leaves.

gall

An irregular growth on a plant stem or leaf caused when an insect lays an egg(s) into the plant part or a pathogen such as a bacteria or fungus infects the plant.

herbaceous

Not woody; dying to the ground at the end of the growing season.

internode

The part of the stem between two successive nodes

lanticel

One of many raised pores in the stem of a woody plant—sometimes lens-shaped—that allows gas exchange between the atmosphere and the internal tissues.

node

The area of a stem where the leaf and bud are borne.

pith

The spongy tissue in the center of a stem. It may be continuous (solid throughout); diaphragmed (continuous, but with firmer cross plates at intervals); or chambered (tissue between plates has disappeared).

prostrate

Growing flat on the ground.

rhizome

A horizontal, prostrate, or underground stem with reduced scalelike leaves. 

runner

A horizontal aboveground stem, arising from the ground, sometimes with small, scalelike leaves.

shrub

Plant having several main stems, more or less woody throughout, and usually less than 13 to 16 feet tall.

stolon

Horizontal stem rooting at the nodes; a runner.

sucker

A new, fast-growing shoot or stem from the root system. Some native shrubs spread by spreading these.

tendril

A slender, twisting appendage that attaches a vining plant to other plants or objects.

tree

A woody plant, usually with one main trunk and normally 13 to 16 feet or more in height with a definite crown of foliage.