How many shoot apical meristems likely to be present in a twig of a plant possessing 4 branches and 26 leaves

Options

A. 26
B. 1
C. 5
D. 30

Answer

To determine how many shoot apical meristems are likely to be present in a twig of a plant with 4 branches and 26 leaves, we can follow these steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understand the Concept of Shoot Apical Meristem**:
- Shoot apical meristems are regions of actively dividing cells located at the tips of shoots and branches. They are responsible for the growth of the plant in length.

2. **Identify the Components of the Plant**:
- In this case, the plant has 4 branches. Each branch will have its own shoot apical meristem.

3. **Count the Shoot Apical Meristems from the Branches**:
- Since there are 4 branches, there will be 4 shoot apical meristems, one for each branch.

4. **Include the Main Plant Axis**:
- In addition to the shoot apical meristems of the branches, there is also one shoot apical meristem located at the top of the main plant axis (the main stem).

5. **Calculate the Total Number of Shoot Apical Meristems**:
- Therefore, the total number of shoot apical meristems is the sum of the shoot apical meristems from the branches and the main plant axis:
- 4 (from branches) + 1 (from main axis) = 5.

6. **Final Answer**:
- The total number of shoot apical meristems in the twig of the plant is 5.

### Conclusion:
The answer to the question is that there are likely 5 shoot apical meristems present in the twig of the plant.

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