Practice Labeling Stems of Plants – 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

This is interactive practice labeling stems of plants: a part is named and you tap it on the drawing. Six parts are on a bare winter twig, and seven are on a young stem cut across.

Read the full guide

Practice labeling stem plant anatomy in two stages

The twig comes first: node, internode, leaf scar, axillary bud, lenticel and terminal bud. The cut stem follows, from the outside in: epidermis, cortex, vascular bundle and pith, then xylem, cambium and phloem on the one bundle drawn large.

Parts that sit close together

A node is the whole band across the twig. The leaf scar is the shield-shaped mark on that band, and the axillary bud is the pointed bud just above the scar. Lenticels are the small lens-shaped dots between the bands. In the large bundle the cambium is the narrow strip down the middle, and the xylem is the side with the wide open vessels.

Any of the small ovals in the ring is a right answer for the vascular bundle.
On a young green twig air enters through stomata. Lenticels take their place as bark forms.

Questions and answers

What is the function of a stem?

A stem supports the buds, leaves and flowers. Its vascular tissue also moves water, minerals and food through the plant.

What is the difference between xylem and phloem?

Xylem carries water and minerals up from the roots. Phloem carries the food made in the leaves, and it can move that food down the stem or up toward the tip.

What does the vascular cambium do?

It is a thin layer of dividing cells between the xylem and the phloem. It makes new xylem on its inner side and new phloem on its outer side, which is how a stem grows thicker.

What is the pith of a stem made of?

Soft, spongy parenchyma cells that in some plants store starch. On the cut stem it is the plain center that the ring of bundles encloses.

How does a leaf scar form?

Before a leaf falls, a cork-like layer grows across its base and cuts it off from the twig. That layer stays behind and covers the scar, which keeps harmful organisms out of the twig.