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Epicormic buds in Wollemi Pine
Undamaged specimens of the rare and ancient Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis) routinely produce epicormic buds, an unusual development for a conifer. Burrows et al. (pp. 835-844) show that small meristems are located in the leaf axils and beneath the stem surface. Some of these meristems develop slowly into buds beneath the bark. Such buds are a ready source of epicormic shoots and thus replacement leaders, branches and leaves.
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