green cluster

A stage in the development of top fruit flower buds in spring, particularly apple and pear. The leaves have emerged by several millimetres to form a small rosette, while the individual flowers (which are within their green bracts at this stage) are still largely unexpanded but visible as a central cluster. Green cluster is after mouse-ear and before pink bud.

This definition is abridged from A – Z of tree terms: A companion to British arboriculture.
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