Vegetative shoot apex of wheat

Ridges are sites of emerging leaf primordia

The shoot apex of wheat (Triticum sp.) is shown as imaged with the scanning electron microscope. The apical meristem is within the narrow tip region, and the series of ridges which broaden out are the sites of the emerging leaf primordia. These ridges, also called leaf buttresses, alternate in a particular pattern that will determine the phyllotaxy, or leaf arrangement. Careful observation shows the outlines of individual cells that stand out in surface view.