Micro-Season: “Plants Show Their First Buds” (2023)

We have entered the micro-season of “Plants Show Their First Buds”. This is the third micro-season of the mini-season Rain Water.  All the micro-seasons within Rain Water are:

• The Earth Becomes Damp (Feb 19-Feb 23)
• Haze First Covers the Sky (Feb. 24 – Feb 28)
• Plants Show Their First Buds (Mar 01 – Mar 04)

These seasons were established in 1685 by Japanese astronomer Shibukawa Shunkai and are specific to Japan. However, just because the calendar focuses on Japan doesn’t mean it isn’t applicable to others.  No matter where you live you can use these seasons as a starting point for your personal exploration of the world around you. 

To celebrate this season, we will learn about plant buds and read seasonal haiku by Issa, Basho, and Shiki.

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What Are Plant Buds?

In botany, the term “bud” is used to describe an undeveloped or rudimentary stem or branch of a plant.⁽¹⁾  Buds typically form at the end of a stem or at the axil of a leaf.  In colder climates, buds may be covered in specialized leaf parts called scales. Scales protect the delicate parts of the buds from harsh winter conditions.  Buds may contain the beginnings of leaves, flowers, or a combination of each.^(1,2)

How Are Plant Buds Classified?

Below are the ways that botanists classify plant buds.

Location

• Terminal –  This bud is located at the tip of a stem or branch.
• Apical –  This bud is located at the tip of a stem or a branch at the top of the plant.
• Axillary –  This type of bud is located in the axil of a leaf. The leaf axil is located between the upper part of the stem and the leaf’s supporting stem. 
• Adventitious – An adventitious bud is when that forms in places not identified in the other locations.  For example, adventitious buds may form on trunks or roots.  

Morphology

• Scaly or Covered – Scaly or covered buds have specialized leaf parts that cover and protect the undeveloped parts. 
• Naked – Naked buds do not have scales.;
• Hairy – Hairy buds may be scaly or naked, and they have small hairs that provided extra protection.  The term Trichomes, which is derived from the Greek word for hair, may also be used to identify the fine hairs that grow on plants.

Function

• Vegetative – A vegetative bud only contains the vegetative pieces of the plant.  A leaf bud is a vegetative bud. 
• Reproductive – A reproductive bud contains flower parts. This bud may also be called a flower bud. 
• Mixed  – A mixed bud contains both vegetative and reproductive parts.  

Status

• Resting – These buds are formed at the end of a season and will “rest” until the next growing season.
• Dormant or latent – These buds move beyond “resting” for a season. Dormant buds usually stay undeveloped for a year or more.
• Accessory – Accessory buds grow alongside the principal terminal or axillary buds.
• Pseudoterminal – Pseudoterminal buds are ones where the axillary bud takes over the role of the terminal bud. This usually happens when the terminal bud dies or is damaged.

The following image by Mariana Ruiz Villarreal provides a wonderful illustration of the classifications mentioned above.

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Looking for help with identifying trees by their buds?  This printable guide for the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point can help!

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Season Haiku

The World Kigo Database tells us that “Tree Buds” (ko no me or konome) are spring kigo. However, there are many variations of ko no me. For example, buds of a willow tree (yanagi no me) and maple buds (kaede no me) are more specific versions of tree buds. This type of specificity is often helpful in writing haiku.  

In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words as selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, they also include “young green plants” (wakamidori) as a similar spring kigo. Here again we see a very broad phrase used as the kigo, and likewise, you could add more specificity to this to create a more vivid image in your haiku.

“Blossoms” are another favorite spring kigo.  However, we will save blossoms for the micro-season “The First Peach Blossom” (March 10 -March 14).

With all this in mind, let’s read some haiku!

Issa

every tree
with its calling card...
spring buds
(translated by David G Lanoue)

deep mountain trees--
soon as buds appear
they're eaten
(translated by David G Lanoue)

Shiki

The buds come out on the trees,
But the garden of the new house
Is not yet natural.
(translated by Blyth)

Basho

flower buds
sadly spring winds cannot open
a poem bag 
(translated by Jane Reichhold)

the beginning verse
should not resemble our faces
budding cherry blossoms 
(translated by Jane Reichhold)

the crescent moon -
a bud on the morning glory
swelling at night 
(translated by Makoto Ueda) 

emaciated and yet
somehow the chrysanthemum
buds out.
(translated by David Landis Barnhill) 

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Haiku Invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu that references buds or young plants.  

Share your haiku in the comments below, or post on your own page and link back to this post. I can’t wait to read what you write! 

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References:

1. “Bud”; Dictionary.com 
2. “Bud”; Wikipedia
3. “Buds of trees (konome)”; World Kigo Database
4. Yamamoto, Kenkichi. “The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words”. Translated by Kris Young Kondo and William J. Higginson. Haiku Foundationamamoto,

Issa’s and Shiki’s haiku were retrieved from the World Kigo Database.    Basho’s haiku was retrieved from Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanese with English translations.