Biology · Morphology of Flowering Plants · NEET
A node is the point on the stem where a leaf (and its axillary bud) is attached. An internode is the portion of the stem between two nodes, and it has no leaves. So leaves are always at nodes, and the bare stretch between them is the internode. NEET often frames this as: node = leaf-bearing point, internode = the gap.
Leaves develop only at the nodes. Each leaf carries a bud in its axil (the angle between the leaf and the stem). This axil bud is called the axillary bud, and it can later grow into a branch. So both leaves and axillary buds are found at nodes, never on the internode.
A terminal bud sits at the tip (apex) of the stem or branch and helps the stem grow taller. An axillary (lateral) bud sits in the axil of a leaf and grows into a side branch or a flower. NCERT states the stem bears buds "which may be terminal or axillary", so remember both types for NEET.
The stem develops from the plumule of the embryo when a seed germinates. The radicle gives the root, not the stem. This is a favourite NEET trap: radicle to root, plumule to shoot/stem. Keep the pair straight.
Nodes, internodes and axillary buds are the base facts that decide many later answers. Stem modifications (like tendrils and thorns from axillary buds), the flower as a modified shoot, and telling a stem from a root all use these definitions. NEET asks stem modification and axillary bud origin questions almost every year, so this concept is high value.
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
A node is the point on the stem where a leaf is attached. Each node also carries a bud in the leaf axil.
An internode is the part of the stem between two nodes. It has no leaves and no buds.
A bud is a small, undeveloped shoot. A terminal bud is at the stem tip; an axillary bud is in the angle between a leaf and the stem and can become a branch.
The stem develops from the plumule of the embryo, while the root develops from the radicle.
A young stem is generally green and can photosynthesise. Later it often becomes woody and dark brown.
