You might notice twigs lying around on the field or in the garden. Your field microscope can be used to study these twigs. But what exactly is a twig? A twig is a small terminal section of a branch which contains the buds, leaves, flowers and fruits of a plant. Twigs are classified into two types: fruiting spurs and vegetative leading twig. The former is a specialized twig that came off the sides of plant branches. Vegetative leading twigs on the other hand, grows slowly and are stubby. They contain numerous annular ring markings which can determine the age of a plant.

Twigs, when viewed under field microscopes, are vital in properly identifying shrubs, trees, and vines. The buds that are seen on a twig can be a useful physical characteristic. Other physical properties of twigs like color, abscission scars, patterning of the twig bark, texture, and thickness also help in proper plant identification with the use of a microscope such as a field microscope.