The leftmost image above, representing many years of growth, illustrates the gradual deterioration of bud scales with time. From top to bottom the bud scales can be seen to erode away without evidence of abscission. The older surface of a shoot like this, soaked in water, generally turns into an amorphous mush - not permitting extraction of bud scale remnants.
B. swaseyi long shoot node with persistent bud scales.
Petiole bases are much larger and thicker, and generally persist for many years. When bud scales and petiole bases are fascicled as in the short shoot image below left, the entire sequence resists mechanical forces that would cause the bud scales to disintegrate. When individual bud scales appear adventitiously on long shoots, they are much more likely to tear as a result of the rapid shoot growth and thus be lost much earlier than when protected by a petiole base. Note that the upper bud scale in the center image below has partially torn loose, and there are several vertical tears in the bud scale in the right image. This is especially true of new growth in shaded areas. When a leaf base is forcibly removed it will bring with it a portion of the shoot epidermis.
