Indeterminate Growth

Indeterminate growth is the ability of an organism to grow and develop further modules infinitely so long as it is provided with the resources to successfully develop, such as nutrients and water. This pattern of growth occurs in the vegetative structure of plants and rarely occurs in animals; animals are more likely to undergo determinate growth.

Animals are unlikely to undergo indeterminate growth because the majority of their cells divide a finite number of times in development. Of the remainder that can divide an infinite number of times, stem cells, few different cell types can be produced. Comparatively, plants maintain Meristems throughout their entire lives that allow regions to undergo infinite cell division. So long as these meristems are intact and supplied with nutrients and resources, new modules can develop.