ABSTRACT
Shoot structure Herbaceous stems are green and nonwoody. They have a range of growth forms generated by an apical meristem that produces leaf and bud primordia. The shoot is surrounded by an epidermis, within which lies the cortex. Vascular tissues occur as a ring of separate bundles towards the outside of the stem in dicotyledons and in a scattered pattern in monocotyledons. The center of the stem is the pith parenchyma.
