Apical Dominance
The phenomenon where the main central stem of a plant grows more strongly than lateral branches, suppressing their growth through hormonal signals. Removal of the apical (tip) meristem releases lateral buds from suppression.
Used in the Books
This term appears in 3 chapters:
"...lls - just enough flexibility to respond to emergencies and changing conditions, but not so much that they sacrifice function for potential. --- Apical Dominance: Resource Prioritization in Plants Let's return to that tree. Notice how it has one main trunk shooting upward, with smaller side branches? That's n..."
"Cut those tops off. Four more lateral buds activate. Keep cutting, and you get a bush instead of a vine. This is apical dominance - the phenomenon where the main shoot suppresses lateral branch growth. The terminal bud produces auxin (a plant hormone that regulates growth and ca..."
"... No surviving tissue or seeds means no regeneration - succession starts from zero (primary succession, covered in Chapter 8). Hormonal Triggers: Apical Dominance and Regeneration When you cut a tree trunk, why do dormant buds activate? Why didn't they grow before? Apical dominance (covered in Chapter 5) supp..."
Biological Context
Auxin produced by the growing tip flows downward and inhibits lateral bud growth. This ensures the plant invests in height before breadth—critical in competitive environments where light access depends on vertical growth. Pruning the apex releases dormant lateral buds, causing bushy growth.
Business Application
Amazon exemplifies apical dominance—concentrated expansion at specific tips (categories) while suppressing premature diversification. SAP's enterprise focus (apical dominance) prevented lateral branching into SMB markets. Companies must decide when to maintain focused trunk growth versus releasing lateral expansion.