Stem | Description, Facts, & Types (2024)

stem, in botany, the plant axis that bears buds and shoots with leaves and, at its basal end, roots. The stem conducts water, minerals, and food to other parts of the plant; it may also store food, and green stems themselves produce food. In most plants the stem is the major vertical shoot, in some it is inconspicuous, and in others it is modified and resembles other plant parts (e.g., underground stems may look like roots).

The primary functions of the stem are to support the leaves; to conduct water and minerals to the leaves, where they can be converted into usable products by photosynthesis; and to transport these products from the leaves to other parts of the plant, including the roots. The stem conducts water and nutrient minerals from their site of absorption in the roots to the leaves by means of certain vascular tissues in the xylem. The movement of synthesized foods from the leaves to other plant organs occurs chiefly through other vascular tissues in the stem called phloem. Food and water are also frequently stored in the stem. Examples of food-storing stems include such specialized forms as tubers, rhizomes, and corms and the woody stems of trees and shrubs. Water storage is developed to a high degree in the stems of cacti, and all green stems are capable of photosynthesis.

Growth and anatomy

The first rudiment of the young stem, or shoot, of an embryonic plant appears from the seed after the root has first protruded. The growing portion at the apex of the shoot is the terminal bud of the plant, and by the continued development of this bud and its adjacent tissues, the stem increases in height. Lateral buds and leaves grow out of the stem at intervals called nodes; the intervals on the stem between the nodes are called internodes. The number of leaves that appear at a node depends on the species of plant; one leaf per node is common, but two or more leaves may grow at the nodes of some species. When a leaf drops off a stem at the end of a growing season, it leaves a scar on the stem because of the severing of the vascular (conducting) bundles that had connected stem and leaf. As the stem continues to grow, lateral buds are produced that develop into lateral shoots more or less resembling the parent stem, and these ultimately determine the branching of the plant. In trees the lateral shoots develop into branches, from which other lateral shoots, called branchlets, or twigs, arise. The point at which a leaf diverges in axis from a stem is called the axil. A bud formed in the axil of a previously formed leaf is called an axillary bud, and it, like the leaves, is produced from the tissues of the stem. During the development of such buds, vascular bundles are formed within them that are continuous with those of the stem.

In the stems of young dicotyledons (angiosperms with two seed leaves) and gymnosperms, the vascular bundles (xylem and phloem) are arranged in a circle around a central core of spongy ground tissue called the pith. Surrounding the vascular bundles is a layer that varies in thickness in different species and is called the cortex. Surrounding this and comprising the exterior surface of the stem is a layer called the epidermis. In plants with woody stems, a variety of secondary tissues are added to these primary tissues. Among the most important of these is a ring of meristematic cells that in turn give rise to the vascular cambium. This tissue arises between the primary xylem and phloem and gives rise to secondary phloem on the outside and secondary xylem on the inside; the latter tissue is the wood of trees.

Stem types and modifications

Many plants are annuals and complete their life cycles in one growing season, after which the entire plant, including the stem, dies. In biennial plants the lower part of the stem, often modified for food storage, persists after the first growing season and bears buds from which an erect stem arises during the second growing season. In perennial plants the short stem may produce new shoots for many years. Plants producing woody stems are called trees and shrubs; the latter produce branches from or near the ground, while the former have conspicuous trunks.

In general, the habit of a stem is erect or ascending, but it may lie prostrate on the ground, as in the sweet potato and strawberry. A stem may climb on rocks or plants by means of rootlets, as in ivy; other vines have twining stems that twist around a supporting plant in a spiral manner, as in the honeysuckle and hop. In other cases, climbing plants are supported by tendrils that may be specialized stems, as in the grape and passion-flower. In tropical climates twining plants often form thick woody stems and are called lianas, while in temperate regions they are generally herbaceous vines. A stolon is a stem that curves toward the ground and, on reaching a moist spot, takes root and forms an upright stem and ultimately a separate plant. Among the subterranean stems are the rhizome, corm, and tuber. In some plants the stem does not elongate during its early development but instead forms a short conical structure from which a crown of leaves arises. These may form a bulb (as in the onion and lily), a head (cabbage, lettuce), or a rosette (dandelion, plantain).