Epicormic shoot

Epicormic shoots sprouting vigorously from epicormic buds beneath the bushfire damaged bark on the trunk of a Eucalyptus tree

An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch of a plant.

Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up the plant. Under certain conditions, they grow into active shoots, such as when damage occurs to higher parts of the plant,[1] or light levels are increased following removal of nearby plants.[2] Epicormic buds and shoots occur in many woody species, but are absent from many others, such as most conifers.[3]

  1. ^ "Glossary: epicormic buds". EUCLID - Eucalypts of Australia. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  2. ^ "Science & Technology : : epicormic bud - Assorted references: tree growth". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  3. ^ Burrows, G.E. (1990). "The role of axillary meristems in coppice and epicormic bud initiation in Araucaria cunninghamii". Botanical Gazette. 151 (3): 293–301. doi:10.1086/337829. S2CID 85077847.