How trees grow – Part 6 (Buds & Leaves)
Buds are the primary source of new growth for a tree. They are one of the only parts of the tree which contains meristems. Meristems are areas of intense cell activity. This enables it to focus all its growing efforts into the new leaves which appear from the buds.
Not all buds are active. There are some buds which are in a state of dormancy. These will stay dormant until needed. They are most obvious on oak trees which have a lot of buds that are not in use. As the tree grows it actually envelops the bud and covers it with bark so as when a branch dies or is cut off the dormant bud can be used immediately.
Leaves go through a process called photosynthesis (as i’m sure you learnt about in school!). They create sugars from carbon dioxide and disperse it throughout a layer just underneath the bark called the phloem. I will explain more about phloem tommorow.
