node
The position on a shoot of a leaf, bud, flower etc., which either arise in pairs (opposite each other) or alternately on one side of the shoot then the other. The nodes are separated by internodes. A pruning cut that decapitates a shoot (eg. heading back) is generally made just above a node to avoid a small stub.
This definition is abridged from A – Z of tree terms: A companion to British arboriculture.
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