Abstract
Lignotuber anatomy and patterns of accessory bud development were studied in the cotyledonary nodes of Eucalyptus cinerea, a lignotuber‐forming eucalypt species widely grown for the cut foliage market. Plants were greenhouse‐grown from seed. Observations were made of both natural growth patterns and of the responses to a single defoliation event involving the removal of all main and lateral stems above node 4 at 17 wk of age. Examinations were made by light microscopy of serial sections and by direct observations in the greenhouse. Lignotuber initiation was visible by 9 wk and was preceded by the development of two accessory buds within each cotyledonary axil, one adaxial and one abaxial to the naked bud. By 22 wk, lignotubers were well developed, and the number of accessory buds per cotyledonary axil had increased. These buds developed adventitiously within the lignotuber cortex and also within strands of parenchyma tissue radiating out from the center of the lignotuber. This central area contained the naked bud that had been engulfed during lignotuber development. Pruning stimulated both accessory bud development and shoot growth from the lignotuber with $$17.3\pm 6.8$$ buds stimulated following pruning, compared with $$9.0\pm 1.0$$ in the unpruned seedlings.
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