A hidden treasure
The flowers and fruits may delight our senses, but without the more modest bud, the tree would not reach great heights. In fact, tucked inside the bud is a zone filled with undifferentiated cells that divide and specialize to turn into a branch, leaf, flower, bud. This zone is called the meristem (Tissue composed of cells able to divide into new specialized tissues.).
During the summer, oak and maple trees buds construct, on a miniature scale, next year's growth: they are predetermined. When spring arrives, they grow rapidly. Willow buds, on the contrary, are indeterminate. They only contain a few preformed leaves. The rest develop as branches lengthen.
