# Spur (stem)

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{{Short description|Type of plant stem}}
{{One source|date=November 2021}}
[[File:Baden-Baden-Ginkgo biloba-Faecherblattbaum-14-2012-gje.jpg|thumb|Brachyblasts and first year axils of ''[Ginkgo](/source/Ginkgo_biloba)'']]
'''Spurs''', or '''brachyblasts''',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Coder |first1=Kim D. |title=Tree Anatomy Manual: Twigs |url=https://warnell.uga.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/Tree%20Anatomy%20Twigs%20pub%2012-24%20-%20Tree%20Anatomy%20Manual%20Twigs%20ARBOR-H.pdf |website=warnell.uga.edu |publisher=Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources |access-date=2 November 2024 |page=7 |date=2018}}</ref> are short, slow growing stems with greatly shortened [internodes](/source/internodes) that can bear leaves, flowers and fruit. Spurs are perennial growths and commonly arise from the [leaf axils](/source/leaf_axils) on shoots.
[[File:Hoya carnosa - umbel with nectar droplets.jpg|thumb|[''Hoya carnosa''](/source/Hoya_carnosa) [inflorescence](/source/inflorescence) spurs]]
They are common in fruit trees such as [apple](/source/apple), [pear](/source/pear), [plum](/source/plum) and [almond](/source/almond). The spurs have horticultural importance. For example, the number of spurs on an almond (''[Prunus dulcis](/source/Almond))'' tree is highly connected to the overall almond yield. <ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Heerema|first1=R. J.|last2=Weinbaum|first2=S. A.|last3=Pernice|first3=F.|last4=Dejong|first4=T. M.|date=2008-01-01|title=Spur survival and return bloom in almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A.Webb] varied with spur fruit load, specific leaf weight, and leaf area|journal=The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology|volume=83|issue=2|pages=274–281|doi=10.1080/14620316.2008.11512380|bibcode=2008JHSB...83..274H |s2cid=87280887|issn=1462-0316}}</ref>

Ginkgo develops spurs from first-year leaf axils, and in subsequent years these produce clusters of leaves and eventually cones.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://conifersociety.org/conifers/ginkgo/|title=Ginkgo |website=American Conifer Society|access-date=2 April 2022}}</ref> Porcelainflower ''[Hoya carnosa](/source/Hoya_carnosa)'' produces spurs for its inflorescences as well.

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Horticulture
Category:Plant stem morphology

{{Horticulture-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Spur (stem)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spur_(stem)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spur_(stem)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.