Parts of a Plant Stem – Labeled Twig and Cross Section

All 13 parts on the diagram

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A twig in winter 6

Node Where a leaf and its bud are attached to the stem.
Internode The stretch of stem between one node and the next.
Leaf scar The mark left where a leaf fell off. Its dots are cut veins.
Axillary bud A bud on the side of the stem. It can grow into a branch.
Lenticel A small opening in the bark. It lets air reach the cells inside.
Terminal bud The bud at the stem's tip. It makes the stem longer.

Cut across 7

Epidermis The thin outer skin of a young stem.
Cortex The layer just under the epidermis. In green stems it makes food.
Vascular bundle A strand of xylem and phloem. It carries water and food.
Pith The soft center of the stem, inside the ring of bundles.
Xylem It carries water and minerals. It lies on the side toward the pith.
Cambium A thin layer between xylem and phloem. It makes new cells of both.
Phloem It carries food made by the leaves. It lies toward the outside.

How this list was compiled: Every name was checked on 2026-09-30 against sources read that day; a name is kept only when two of them use it. (1) NC State Extension, North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook, chapter 3, Botany, https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/3-botany (the stem area where leaves are attached is a node, and the area between nodes an internode; terminal buds at a stem's end, lateral buds on the sides, called axillary buds when in the axil of a leaf; xylem carries water and minerals and phloem food; in a dicot stem the vascular system is a ring, the phloem toward the outside with the vascular cambium just inside it; in a monocot stem the bundles are scattered; the cortex is bounded on the outside by the epidermis). (2) John N. Martin, Botany for Agricultural Students, 1919, public domain, https://archive.org/details/botanyforagricul00mart (nodes and internodes; terminal and axillary buds, the stem lengthening from the terminal bud and branches growing from the buds in the leaf axils; leaf scars left where the leaves fell away, their dots the cut ends of the vascular bundles; lenticels, lens-shaped dots through which air reaches the tissues under the bark; the cortex just under the epidermis, which makes food in green stems; xylem and phloem together form the vascular bundles, which in dicotyledons stand in a circle and enclose the pith; the cambium adds new xylem on its inner side and new phloem on its outer side). (3) Wikipedia, text only: Plant stem, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_stem (nodes and internodes; axillary bud; the stem is covered with an epidermis; dicot stems with primary growth have pith at the center and vascular bundles in a distinct ring; the cambium forms between xylem and phloem), Bud, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud , Leaf scar, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_scar (the mark a fallen leaf leaves on the twig; axillary buds are located above leaf scars), Lenticel, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenticel (a pore for the exchange of gases through the bark), Vascular bundle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vascular_bundle , and Pith, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pith . Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain curves; own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

Parts of a plant stem, outside and in. A winter twig shows the nodes, internodes, buds, leaf scars and lenticels. A young stem cut across shows the epidermis, cortex, vascular bundles and pith.

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On the outside

A node is where a leaf and its bud are attached. The stretch between two nodes is an internode. A fallen leaf leaves a leaf scar, with an axillary bud just above it. The tip's terminal bud makes the stem longer.

On the inside

Under the epidermis lies the cortex. In the young stem of a dicot, such as a bean, the vascular bundles stand in a ring around the pith. In each bundle the xylem faces the pith and the phloem faces out, with the cambium between them.

Corn and other monocots have no ring. Their bundles are scattered through the stem.
The dots on a leaf scar are the cut ends of the veins that ran into the leaf.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of a plant stem?

On the outside: nodes, internodes and buds. Inside a young stem: the epidermis, the cortex, the vascular bundles with their xylem and phloem, and the pith at the center.

What is the difference between a node and an internode?

A node is the place on the stem where leaves and buds are attached. An internode is the bare stretch of stem between one node and the next.

What is the difference between a terminal bud and an axillary bud?

A terminal bud sits at the tip of a stem and makes it longer. An axillary bud sits on the side, in the angle just above a leaf or a leaf scar, and can grow into a branch.

What do lenticels do?

They let air pass through the bark to the living cells beneath. On a twig they show as small lens-shaped dots.