Juvenile is different from young. Young refers to the
age, and is the opposite of old.
Juvenile is the opposite of adult, and can refer to:
the period in the lifetime that the organ was initiated
(sleeping buds at the base of a stem were initiated on the seedling);
the initiation period of an organ on which new structures
develop (root sprouts develop on roots which were originally initiated
in the seedling stage);
the proximity to the root system.
Juvenility in several hard-woods:
Density of crosshatching
indicates degree of juvenility.
In the juvenile zone, note the
single trunk, retention of leaves
close to the trunk in winter, and
obtuse branch angle. In the mature
zone, note the forked trunk and
acute branch angles.
