Sympodial

Dichotomous substitution: two equal buds continue growth after the shoot apex has aborted.

Laelia superbiens, a sympodial orchid.

In botany, sympodial growth is a specialized lateral growth pattern in which the apical meristem is terminated and growth is continued by one of more lateral meristems, which repeat the process. The apical meristem may be consumed to make an inflorescence or other determinate structure, or it may be aborted.

Leader displacement may result: the stem appears to be continuous, but is in fact derived from the meristems of multiple lateral branches, rather than a monopodial plant whose stems derive from one meristem only.^[1]

Dichotomous substitution may result: two equal laterals continue the main growth.

In orchids

In some orchids, the apical meristem of the rhizome forms an ascendent swollen stem called a pseudobulb, and the apical meristem is consumed in a terminal inflorescence. Continued growth occurs in the rhizome, where a lateral meristem takes over to form another pseudobulb and repeat the process. This process is evident in the jointed appearance of the rhizome, where each segment is the product of an individual meristem, but the sympodial nature of a stem is not always clearly visible.

References

1. Simpson, M. G. 2006. Plant Systematics. Elsevier Academic Press. Pg. 355.