Internodium = Teil einer Sprossachse, zwischen zwei Knoten (Nodi), der definitionsgemäß keine Blätter trägt

-defines the distance between leaves, typically depending on leaf

-important to avoid self-shading of leaves

-in some plants there are strong variations: short shoots have shordened internodes, the leaves are densely (dicht) packed together

-in plants with short shoots, shoots with normal internode length are called long shoots

-in many fruit trees (cherry, apple) flowers are borne on short shoots

-the meristem in buds is mostly protected by small scale-like leaves on very short internodes