= Flower bud
A <flower bud> is an undeveloped <flower> in which the floral <organs> are forming or remain enclosed before <anthesis>. It differs from a vegetative <bud>, which will extend a <shoot> with <leaves>. A <flower bud> is already reproductive even while its external coverings hide the future \x[stamens]{magic} and <carpels>.<Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th edition by Bruce Alberts and others>[Chapter 21, Plant Development: floral meristems and successive floral organ primordia]{ref}
Dissecting a series of <flower buds> of increasing size can reveal the order in which floral structures appear. Opening the largest <bud> is not equivalent to observing the original switch to <flowering>: that developmental decision occurred earlier. This makes <flower bud> size a useful staging observation, provided the relation between size and internal development is checked for the particular <plant>.
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