Summary Resting bud cataphylls are often assumed to play an essential protective role in winter due to their widespread presence among temperate, woody plants. This view is challenged by our documentation of significant numbers of temperate woody angiosperm taxa with naked buds that overwinter without cataphyll protection. We inventoried temperate, woody angiosperm taxa reported to have resting buds without cataphyll protection in winter and for the first time characterised the morphological and functional diversity of naked buds. Using this new classification of bud types, the taxonomic and geographic distributions of taxa with naked buds were summarised and relationships between plant functional traits and bud type were investigated. Naked buds are not, as long presumed, markedly rare in temperate, woody floras. They occur in at least 87 genera in 42 families throughout the angiosperm phylogeny in various morphologically distinct manifestations. The geographic distribution of species with naked buds in temperate areas was found to be associated with summer precipitation, but not with winter climatic variables. Resting bud structure is not necessarily a trait optimised solely for winter survival. A taxon’s bud composition may be influenced by factors such as biogeographic history and ontogenetic pattern of leaf formation over the growing season.