Spurs are short, slow growing stems with greatly shortened

internodes A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrien ...

that can bear leaves, flowers and fruit. Spurs are perennial growths and commonly arise from the

leaf axils A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

on shoots. They are common in fruit trees such as

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

Pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

Plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

and

Almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

. The spurs have horticultural importance. For example, the number of spurs on an almond (''

Prunus dulcis The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of th ...

)'' tree is highly connected to the overall almond yield. Ginkgo develops spurs from first-year leaf axils and in subsequent years these produce clusters of leaves and eventually cones. Porcelainflower ''

Hoya carnosa ''Hoya carnosa'', the porcelainflower or wax plant, is an asclepiad species of flowering plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae. It is one of the many species of ''Hoya'' that are native to Eastern Asia and Australia. It is a common house plant ...

'' produces spurs for its inflorescenses as well.

References

Horticulture Plant morphology {{Horticulture-stub