undeveloped flower or shoot containing a meristematic growing point. Small lateral or terminal protuberance on the stem of a plant that may develop into a flower or shoot.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
bud (noun)
1.
a small lateral or terminal protuberance on the stem of a plant that may develop into a flower, leaf, or shoot
2.
something not yet mature or at full development as
a) an incompletely opened flower
b) - child youth
c) (1) an outgrowth of an organism that differentiates into a new individual - gemma
(2) an outgrowth having the potential to differentiate and grow into a definitive organ or part - primordium an embryonic limb bud
3.
- buddy
bud (verb)
intransitive verb
1.
of a plant
a) to set or put forth buds
b) to commence growth from buds
2.
to grow or develop from or as if from a bud
3.
transitive verb
to reproduce asexually especially by the pinching off of a small part of the parent
1.
to produce or develop from buds
2.
to cause (as a plant) to bud
3.
to insert a bud from a plant of one kind into an opening in the bark of (a plant of another kind) usually in order to propagate a desired variety
bud (Wikipedia)
European beech (Fagus sylvatica) bud

In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specialized to develop flowers or short shoots, or may have the potential for general shoot development. The term bud is also used in zoology, where it refers to an outgrowth from the body which can develop into a new individual.

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